SSA ready for post-Kadooment cleanup

Personnel from the Sanitation Service Authority (SSA) are fully prepared for what will be their first post-Grand Kadooment cleanup in two years, the agency’s Public Relations Officer (PRO) Carl Padmore has assured.

He has also appealed to motorists to be more considerate of SSA crews as they work.

Padmore told Barbados TODAY all the teams are aware of the logistics of the clean-up which will happen after the climax of the Crop Over Festival, with the work planned to be executed as seamlessly as possible after the last Kadooment band makes its way onto the route.

However, he expressed concern that at previous events during the Crop Over season, some vendors did not dispose of their waste correctly, creating problems for the SSA.

“The technical personnel would have met with the NCF [National Cultural Foundation] and they would have allocated the necessary resources and equipment. The use of the new vendor areas would only create complications for our workers if the vendors opt to put things like grease there for the SSA to dispose of, so we wish to caution vendors to desist from placing the oil for the SSA to remove.

“Also, on completion, it’s your responsibility to remove your own stalls and not leave it for the SSA to remove them,” Padmore added.

The PRO also complained that some motorists were still not exercising caution when driving in areas where SSA crews were working.

“We would wish to remind motorists to be mindful of the SSA workers when you see them on the roads and the highways. We have found that in the past, the drivers don’t pay [enough] attention to us and that is where the problems come. We expect more cooperation from them,” he said.

“The issue goes back to being sensitive to our workers, and not only at Crop Over. We have workers that take the streets from as early as 6 a.m. sweeping and we find that there are some drivers who would speed and blow up the same waste we are trying to rake, and that is really inconsiderate.

“We have cases in the rainy season where there are puddles of water and sometimes instead of shunning the water, they would splash our workers, which is inconsiderate. We expect better, we know the motorists can do better,” Padmore said. (SB)