EDITORIAL - Dealing with political garbage

We welcome the announcement that the National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) intends to take action against political parties for posters, banners, flags and other paraphernalia displaying in public spaces.

This notice is right on point as the political campaign heats up and rallies are planned for various locations throughout the country.

Far too often public spaces have been defaced by supporters of political parties - and also quite regularly by persons in the entertainment industry - without any punishment being meted out to them. If left unchecked, it could get out of hand in the current silly season.

According to a press statement issued by the public cleansing body, it has asked the political ombudsman, Mr Herro Blair, to remind the political parties of their duty not to breach the National Solid Waste Management Act, which prohibits the placing of campaign paraphernalia in public places or on certain buildings or structures adjoining public places.

We submit that this is not the end of the story. Another matter of concern is the colossal mounds of garbage that are left in the trail of public functions by political parties and others.

Reference is made to the promoters of the annual carnival whose street marches staged in the Corporate Area are usually followed immediately by clean-up crews so that minutes after the parade passes an area, garbage collectors come right behind with a truck to swallow up all the debris left behind by the revellers, and supposedly eventually carting it off to the landfill.

Note that the carnival is promoted by private sector-led groups whose demonstration of public responsibility and efficient organisation in staging events appears to have been lost on our political parties.

getting tough

While people have a right to peaceably assemble, the time has come for the police and municipal authorities, who must grant permission to stage mass rallies and other events, to insist on stronger strictures. That might include approvals predicated on a plan for garbage disposal after public assemblies, as well as other considerations such as security and noise levels. The fact is, whatever happens at these rallies and mass meetings ultimately affects entire communities.

The general appearance of the nation's capital tells a story about the inability of the NSWMA to cope with the day-to-day demands of public cleansing and garbage collection in keeping with established environmental standards. Many communities are overrun by garbage as weekly trash pick-up has been reduced sometimes to once a month.

For political parties to expect the agency to cart away their garbage is unfair, because it means diverting resources away from communities and also places a greater burden on taxpayers to foot a potentially expensive bill incurred by the parties concerned. This must mean a reallocation, if not an increase, in the budget for garbage collection in cities and towns where the parties choose to hold their meetings.

We suggest further that the law be changed to increase the fine for breaching the National Solid Waste Management Act from the current $10,000 to a more punitive sum to encourage greater compliance.

The opinions on this page, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Gleaner. To respond to a Gleaner editorial, email us: editor@gleanerjm.com or fax: 922-6223. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all responses will be published.