The Tribune

EDITOR, The Tribune

Listening to the Prime Minister on his government plans to address the issues at the dump, it becomes obvious that the government is about to make the same mistake it has made in the past.

The operation of this landfill should be the Government task and responsibility. Private management, motivated by profit is not the answer. Operating this Landfill is not going to be a commercially profitable venture unless heavy reliance on government financial assistance is one of the operator’s main revenue stream.

The Government must realize/appreciate that there is no more room to make further mistakes in efforts to have this facility properly managed. Lives are now being affected. Allowing political affiliation and influence in its selection process will bring about the same result.

Selecting a management entity whose only expertise is that it knows and has access to the right political movers and shakers will result in much of what we are currently experiencing.

Operators vying for a management contract at the landfill must be made to understand and appreciate that they are making a business decision which carries commercial risk which may yield unpleasant financial outcomes.

Their business model should not simply be a reflection of how much management fees can be extracted from the government to manage this facility nor should it be based on bailout guarantees and provisions when performance heads south due to unanticipated outcomes or bad management

We have seen at this facility, what in my opinion is regarded as financial hostage taking by entities who made promises that in my opinion, they were incapable of delivering and when the financial burden became unbearable, government intervention was demanded.

The proposed operator(s) should be contractually obligated to operate this facility on sound commercial practices relying more heavily on generating revenues from the conversion of collected waste and material into revenue streams.

The Government at the end of the day should not be expected to cover losses experienced by the operator and nor should the government be held hostage to levy additional fees and taxes on an already overtaxed resident and business community to ensure that operators cover cost or make a return on investment.

I am also of the view that the government should make public the agreement entered into with the selected operator(s).

CLAUDE B HANNA

Nassau,

March 12, 2017