Holness honours NSWMA workers and urges cleaner communities ahead of hurricane season

Prime Minister Andrew Holness used the National Solid Waste Management Authority’s long-service awards ceremony to thank sanitation workers for decades of service and to stress the national importance of keeping Jamaica clean. The event recognised employees who have served for 15, 20, 25, 30 years and more.

Holness said public sanitation is central to health, tourism, schools, homes, businesses and the country’s image. He told awardees that many had worked through storms, floods, disasters and years when resources and recognition were limited, while their families also carried the pressures of irregular hours and dangerous conditions.

The prime minister said the Government’s move to regularise NSWMA staff had brought practical benefits to workers. He said he was told before speaking that more than 2,000 employees had so far been made permanent, with a commitment to include all who qualify.

Holness also pointed to investments in the authority’s fleet, including compactor trucks, motorcycles for enforcement officers, pickup vans and 10 tipper trucks provided in December to improve emergency cleanup capacity after hurricane-related damage. He commended the NSWMA for debris removal in Black River following Hurricane Melissa.

With the hurricane season under way, he said the NSWMA’s Operation CAM is aimed at clearing flood-prone communities of bulky and solid waste, educating residents, using community leadership networks and keeping teams visible in vulnerable areas.

Holness urged citizens to secure household garbage properly instead of leaving it exposed to animals, wind or passers-by. He acknowledged gaps in collection schedules, trucks, landfills and transfer stations, but said those limits made public cooperation more important.

He said the Government’s wider push for order would extend beyond crime and traffic enforcement to improper waste disposal in public spaces. A modified version of the traffic ticketing system, he said, would be used to issue tickets for littering and related offences.