The House of Assembly on Tuesday passed the Health Services (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which has implications for Government as well as property owners.
This follows approval of a report of the Joint Select Committee on the Social Sector and Environment to address cleaning of the environment across the island.
Deputy Prime Minister Santia Bradshaw, who as a Senior Minister is responsible for infrastructure, called for increased financial resources to pay for more public health workers and support work to clean the several a number of areas, including roads, gullies and properties.
While dismissing some of the comments of Opposition Leader Ralph Thorne on “tall bush” as a waste of the people’s business, Bradshaw agreed with him on the need to implement legislation.
“There must be additional resources . . . to be put in place to support this piece of legislation,” she said.
Bradshaw said Government was providing training for individuals in environmental cleaning so they could become entrepreneurs with skills they could consider taking abroad.
The Deputy Prime Minister said women in particular were at risk of being attacked by people hiding in tall bush while some residents became ill through rat infestation.
She also lamented the build-up of plastics and other waste in gullies,
and the challenge to addressing climate change when water is not allowed to run off to the sea.
The St Michael South East Member of Parliament also saw the need for public education on the new Bill. She said Government had enacted significant amounts of legislation over the years which required public education.
She said the new Bill has implications for Government as well as property owners to keep the environment clean.
The minister also noted that some residents have had to clear bush from properties of other homeowners to address environment and safety concerns. She suggested that some of these owners whose lands have been cleared were in a position to pay the cost.
It was noted that property owners will be notified of the need to clear their land of bush and in the event that work had to be done by the State, these owners will be billed for the costs.
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