The project would see collaboration among the Government, Mayor and City Council and other agencies, officials said after Permanent Secretary in the Local Government Ministry, Mr. Phillip Hamilton, and Director of Guyenterprise, Mr. Vic Insanally, put their signatures to the documentation at City Hall.

Funding is being facilitated through a loan from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and a Government of Guyana contribution of US$149,861.

Hamilton said the implementation is designed to negate the negative trends relating to solid waste disposal and develop awareness of the best practices that would improve the Mandela Avenue dump site and eliminate, to a great extent, the hazards currently existing there.

"So the Ministry expects that the municipality, in conjunction with Guyenterprise (the contractor), will try to impress upon the citizens to take the information emanating from this contract seriously as it relates to solid waste management," the Permanent Secretary said.

The IDB and City Hall in 1998 identified improper solid waste management and disposal as the most acute and "visible problems" in the capital and a survey indicated that 78.3 per cent of the population felt garbage was "the most important issue affecting Guyana's environment" and responsible for the declining aesthetic appeal of the once famous 'Garden City'.

Hamilton observed that it is of critical importance also to the general health and well-being of the estimated 180,000 Georgetown inhabitants.
He acknowledged that the programme to be implemented was long overdue and urged Guyenterprise to start as quickly as possible.

Hamilton said the signing ceremony is testimony that the Government is pursuing diligently the issue of addressing the situation related to poor solid waste management in Guyana and has commenced in the capital.

He assured that there will be other efforts around the country in the not too distant future and the Ministry, as the borrower from IDB, will ensure it works in tandem with the executing agency, so that, in the final analysis, the municipality and the citizens of Georgetown and its immediate environs will benefit.

Deputy Mayor Robert Williams, who also spoke on the occasion, said the scheme would provide opportunities leading to effective changes in citizens' attitude towards their environment.

Insanally expressed delight that his company, Guyenterprise, won the award following submission of the proposal in November 2002.

Media consultant attached to Guyenterprise for the duration, Dr Rovin Deodat, said the pilot scheme is very necessary and urgently needed for solid waste awareness and management.