City MP focuses on maintaining capital’s cleanliness

City of Bridgetown MP Corey Lane wants to see more focus put on keeping the capital clean as a number of redevelopment projects get underway in the area.

Lane told reporters of his satisfaction with the clean-up exercise conducted by the Barbados Tourism Investment Inc. (BTI) to prepare Bridgetown for the ICC Cricket World Cup tournament and expressed the hope that the cleanliness can be maintained in the area after the games.

“I want to thank the BTI who would have engaged in a clean-up, giving much-needed employment to persons in the areas surrounding Kensington – particularly Westbury, Pickwick Gap, New Orleans, Chapman Lane and Kensington New Road,” he said. “The place looks really nice, and my plan is really to help maintain it so we keep it looking good for the World Cup and beyond.”

Lane added that illegal dumping has not only been an eyesore but has also been the cause of significant instances of flooding for city residents.

“For me, as it comes to illegal dumping in the city or in the country as a whole, I’ve experienced it over the last two years in an amplified way. Only on two occasions we had flooding in The City since I’ve been in office, and both times it had to do with the blocking of the flow to the pumps. When I went in there, the number of bottles and other items I would not even call…. The Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) has a role to play, the government has a role to play, but the citizens also have a role to play to ensure that you dispose of your garbage and recycle waste appropriately.”

He revealed that a new anti-littering initiative is being planned for the city and the country as a whole.

“My message is, really and truly, when you drop that wrapper there, you could be flooding out your own home. For me, we need to work together. I’ve put together a plan with the SSA and we are working together in the city. The SSA has an [anti-littering campaign called] I Love My City, and it has been broadened to I Love My Country. So we want to ask all Barbadians to let’s keep Barbados clean for all of us. It looks better and it’s healthier.”

Lane was speaking to reporters after the launch of the Seaside Aquatics Swimming Programme at Seaside Aquatics, Sunset Point, Salmonds, St Lucy.