'Love for BVI' is the answer to indiscriminate dumping of garbage- Premier
The call was made by Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Andrew A. Fahie (R1) when he met with residents of his constituency at Leonora Delville Primary School in Cappoons Bay on Sunday, September 5, 2021.
Premier Fahie was accompanied by Deputy Premier and Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture Dr the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley (R7), Minister for Transportation, Works and Utilities Honourable Kye M. Rymer and Minister for Health and Social Development Honourable Carvin Malone (AL).
No gov't contract!
It was during the question and answer segment that one resident asked Hon Rymer for the national strategy for the clean up of the territory.
Premier Fahie; however, responded: “Everybody has to take their own personal responsibility, because we have a mindset that we just put the garbage down anywhere and solid waste out there picking up. If we don’t get pride in the BVI, if we don’t get pride in ourselves, if this can’t work out, that’s not for a government contract, sorry for whoever looking one for it.”
Premier Fahie insisted, “That’s not for a government contract, that’s for your own pride to deal with it.”
He said that in some countries persons residing along the roadway are held responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of their frontage, adding that what some residents are doing with their frontage is "unconscionable.”
We have to work on our 'santomah'
He further stated, “Anytime you see bottles and cans on the ground, they didn’t put themselves there. We have to stop littering, we have to work on our 'santomah', to do the right things and keep around our property clean. It’s very important that we do that.”
Premier Fahie noted; however, that there are certain public areas that government must take care of which include highways and certain other drives, “But after a while, it is going to come down to where we will have to start having discussions of you taking care of your area, and leave the public areas for the government to deal with.”
He stressed that persons must have a love for the “BVI” and to keep it clean.
25 Responses to “'Love for BVI' is the answer to indiscriminate dumping of garbage- Premier”
Didn't they just hire a UK company to do some consultation on waste management in the BVI? Starting to wonder what (or who) is (or are) the real trash in this place and how much it (or they) really need to get throw out...
Vote your conscience, like or dislike.
The answer is put up some cameras and heavily fine the culprits friends or not.
Before I finished, please allow me to ask you two questions, Sir. Will it cost too much to place small garbage bins at the side of our public roadways, especially our main ones? Do it look good, especially in the eyes of tourists when they see residents walking with garbage on our streets to garbage bins, regularly, because garbage bins are far from where they are living?
The receptacles we currently have are too small to contain the amount of garbage in the various neighborhoods.
However, the bulky garbage is a bigger eyesore. It makes Nature Little Secret looks more like Nature Dirty Secret.
I imagine the thoughts going through a visitor's mind observing garbage strewn about and the road side in dire need of landscaping.
If we continue in this fashion, we will run tourist from our shores.
Just the other day I was talking to my children about the changes happening in the country. The way I grew up compare to know. I grew up in Huntum’s Ghut still there. I was telling them about the area then versus now. Growing every day we (sibling and cousins) had to clean the yard. This was done for every house. When you walk thru the neighborhood, the yards were clean and every one had a flower garden. You barely saw anything out of place. We had a few bars where the men will drink and that was the only areas this type of activity took place. The young men had their spot but kept it clean. In my case a dirty yard meant your house wasn’t clean(that’s according to my grandmother) and would cause people to talk bad about you. She said no one wanted to come to an untidy place and on she would go until we had it clean to her likeness. This was the same for neighbors.
Today, a walk thru the neighborhood reveals a dufferent story. Garbage all around and kind junk and old cars park up long side the roads even on side walks. If our ancestor could see how we have this place looking today, they would hold their heads in shame.
While I’m at it, I would like to give a big shout out the the Solid Waste Department especially the riad side crew. There is one man in particular who cleans Main Street. He does a very good job in keeping that area clean. Every morning I pass him, he is sweeping, picking up the small bit of trash and sometime trim the shrubs. Thanks for a job well done.
You can't blame the residents. I can see some of them tries but the Government is failing to accept their responsibility. That's one of the places that the Taxis takes the Tourist. Thank God there is no Cruise ship. The place is an eye soar.
The people that built those cubicles to collect the plastic, glass bottles and can needs to have some Pride themselves and clean up around those things. All they are concern about is to collect but around them things full of grass and nasty. The Government ( ministry of health) must make sure that they clean the area.
Saying we borne here and about BVI Love is not enough and can never be. We must put some action behind of it. In other words put your money where your mouth is.
Have some pride. Remember that cleanliness is next to Godliness.
Garbage littering here, there, and everywhere begins in the human mind. Love for God, for our neighbors, our country, our community best intrest is nothing short of an almost-free-of-garbage B.V.I, except for the areas where garbage are gathered, and burning continue, daily.
Some people put their garbage on the top of their vehicles, and dump them along the road. I witnessed that happen the other day, and I blew my horn. The person speed off.
Has been trying to provide a free of cost service to the government to clean up the BVI also providing countless job for the territory.
What are y'all talking about !!!
#wheresthevision
#wheresthetogerher