We 'must can do better'!

I LIVE in what could be one of the most delightful communities in the island. There are no large mansions, only three- and four-bedroom dwellings and town houses. The town houses have no fences at the front and have only small lawns, but what strikes anyone passing through is what the people in the community have done with those lawns. Nearly all have been transferred into beautiful gardens and when these are seen against the backdrop of the brightly coloured houses, the scene is indeed quite picturesque.

It is a quiet community in which we watch our children move in and out of their teenage years with little ado. We should all be quite contented and living as close to blissful lives as the economy allows us to.

But we have two major problems. Our community is rat-infested. We are plagued by rats of different types.

The first are quite scary. The infestation began a couple years ago when the National Solid Waste Management Authority began to have problems with garbage collection. We were, for some reason, one of the most badly affected. Garbage collection dropped from three times a week to once a week. This was 'bad but not so bad' as the householders learned to cope and, luckily, we had very few stray dogs in the area to pull apart one's garbage. But then, the situation got worse and garbage was not collected for two and sometimes up to three weeks. Sometimes we were horrified by the fact that the smell of decaying garbage began to affect those whose garbage was stored at the front of their small yards.

The arrival of the rats

Then came the rats.

First, we began to see them tearing at garbage bags, foraging for food. The citizens did their best, storing garbage in grilled containers or in sealed garbage bins. The rats became bolder and one sometimes saw them running across lawns or across the streets. And then they began to turn to the houses. Pest controllers were called in and rat traps of all types were employed to keep them out. Houses with dogs were safer as these kept the 'critters' at bay. Happily, the rats were not able to overrun the community as garbage collection 'improved' to once per week and the community maintained its vigilance.

But they are still there.

But then the two-legged 'rats' began to strike. Nearly every fortnight one began to hear stories of community members being held up and robbed. Sometimes, they struck at daytime and broke into houses that were empty as the householders were either at work or at school. Helpers were attacked and places robbed. But most of the attacks were at night. Persons coming home from work in the evenings were mugged, cars were taken away and handbags snatched. People were stripped of their wallets, cellular phones, watches and jewellery.

Service needs improvement

The main targets of these 'rats', for a period, were senior citizens. But they soon broadened their scope. KingAlarm, Guardsman and other security services were brought in to combat this new infestation and, after a few interceptions, helped to make the situation less dire.

It makes one think. In a community of civil servants, middle managers in industry and commerce, and small businessmen and women, we should be better served. These people belong to that part of the society that the PAYE tax system affects most. It seems decidedly wrong that they should be among those least well served by two of the most vital public services.

Here is more food for thought. Recently, a pipe burst in the area and, in repairing it, a huge hole was dug. The hole was then filled with stones and marl. The road slopes downward and, after it rained, the stones and mud were washed into the streets. When calls were made, a truck and a tractor were sent to scrape up and remove the stones. The next day, the hole was refilled with stones and marl. Two days later, there was another downpour and the stones and marl were back on the streets. We called again. Unbelievably, this situation was repeated about nine times before the road was properly repaired. Consider the cost of the tractor!

We 'must can do better'!

Keith Noel is an educator. Comments to columns@gleanerjm.com.