Prime Minister Andrew Holness has responded to mounting complaints about a pile-up of garbage in communities across Jamaica, promising new trucks will arrive in the island soon.
The National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) has admitted that it is struggling with timely garbage collection, due to a limited number of trucks.
The Prime Minister explained that the government had made a budgetary allocation to purchase 100 garbage trucks, however, the funds had to be diverted to the management of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He said the government has since made an allocation for the purchase of 50 trucks, to be delivered later this year.
The trucks are being shipped from the production source and Mr. Holness said they will take 40 days to get to Jamaica, "a few more days to clear, and a few more days to get into our garbage collection processes here".
He was speaking Wednesday at the signing ceremony for the Social Partnership agreement 2022-2026.
The agreement, with the theme "Strong, Sustainable Recovery", represents a commitment by the government, parliamentary opposition and other stakeholders to work together to resolve social issues.
