Local NewsNews Frustrated St Andrew residents promised resolution to garbage, transportation woes by Marlon Madden 24/08/2023 written by Marlon Madden Updated by Brittany Brewster 24/08/2023 4 min read A+A- Reset Community spokesperson Carlitha Andrews said life in St Andrew came with various challenges because of poor bus, garbage collection and water services. Share FacebookTwitterLinkedinWhatsappEmail 615 St Andrew residents are fed-up with shoddy service provided by the Government in several areas, including transportation, garbage collection and water supply, and are demanding an urgent fix. After hearing the community’s frustrations during the St Andrew Speaks town hall meeting at the Alleyne School on Tuesday night, Prime Minister Mia Mottley and other government officials gave the assurance that their concerns would be addressed. Outspoken White Hill community resident Carlitha Andrews said people living in that neighbourhood faced a multitude of challenges. “We have every problem there is in Barbados in White Hill. Everybody knows this. But right now there is a catastrophe in White Hill where the garbage is concerned. This is five weeks that we haven’t had a garbage pickup,” she complained, adding that the garbage in other communities in the same parish were being collected. The community spokesperson also complained about the poor customer service she experienced when she called the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) to complain about the issue. Officials explained that the small garbage truck used to traverse the hilly terrain of White Hill was out of service, resulting in the delay in garbage collection in the area over the past several weeks. You Might Be Interested In Crystal Beckles-Holder, 2nd runner up in regional competition GUYANA: Body of child found after gold mine collapses Barbadians asked to help with return tickets for Haitians Apologising on behalf of the state’s garbage collection agency, the Prime Minister said: “Hold tight. We have heard you. We will deal with this tomorrow (Wednesday) and the MP will get back to you before the end of the day to find out whether the garbage has been picked up or not.” Andrews confirmed on Wednesday evening that the garbage had been collected that morning. Another lingering issue highlighted by Andrews and other residents was the late arrival or lack of Transport Board buses plying the St Andrew routes. “Why are St Andrew people being treated like this by the Transport Board?” asked Andrews. “First of all, St Andrew/Shorey Village is the worst. It is the worst. You dare not get up and ask the supervisors nothing because if you ask a question the bus gine delay further. This is not right. St Andrew people are taxpayers too.” The residents, who advised that their parliamentary representative Dr Romel Springer was aware of their plight, said the situation was especially worrying for the elderly in the parish. “The pensioners are being abused by the drivers. Not the Transport Board drivers I must say, [but] the TAP [Transport Augmentation Programme] drivers. They are [being] asked to pay and some are [being] put off halfway . . . . Why should this be happening in this era? Are St Andrew people not taxpayers?” asked Andrews. In response to this concern, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Transport Santia Bradshaw said she was aware of the inconsistencies and acknowledged that in addition to scheduling of buses, the number of buses remained a challenge. However, she gave the assurance that the situation was being addressed and said additional buses would hopefully be deployed to the parish soon, given that the Government recently received 10 electric buses. However, Andrews dismissed the suggestion that the number of buses was a problem, charging that some routes were being given preference. “The problem is management,” she said. “You dare not get up and go cross and ask when you gine get a Shorey Village bus, because if you do that, depending on who supervisor working, the bus gine delay three and four hours. This is what we are seeing as commuters.” Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mottley said her administration was continuing work to install a cashless payment system as well as GPS tracking on Transport Board buses. This, she said, would help to solve the concern of whether buses were going where they were scheduled, and at what time. “There are too many people who are making complaints about the absence of the bus to Shorey Village on a regular basis. And, therefore, I am asking that you all have a meeting, do a review, and come back to residents here in the next few days and report back to them what you have done to deal with their issues,” Mottley instructed transportation officials. In relation to the water woes plaguing the rural parish, Mottley gave the assurance that would be investigated and a decision reached on what measures were needed and what steps would be taken. She said she would be requesting a report from the BWA to be presented to Cabinet on Thursday. Mottley stressed the need for investigation to correct the issues and mechanisms to be implemented to hold people accountable, and she urged state agency employees to operate by the Golden Rule which states, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” Other concerns raised during the town hall meeting on Tuesday related to land slippage, relocation of residents, debushing and the need for gutters to be cleaned. marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb Marlon Madden You may also like Mathlin-Tulloch: IHB ‘a cornerstone of our island’s tourism industry’ 08/02/2025 Huge interest in Rally Barbados 08/02/2025 Mayers helps Barishal to BPL title 08/02/2025