Barbados finds itself in a Catch 22 situation today. While trying to fight the dangerous Aedes aegypti mosquito which is responsible for dengue fever and chikungunya, garbage can be seen piling up in some parts of the country.
Health officials have been preaching the importance of residents making sure their surroundings are clean and free from garbage and empty containers, which could breed mosquitoes. So serious are they that at least two people have appeared before the law courts to answer charges of breeding mosquitoes.
To compound the problem, garbage has been mounting up all across the island for the last couple of weeks due to a shortage of trucks.
We are therefore heartened to hear Minister of the Environment Dr Denis Lowe say that the ministry will be bringing in new compactors before the Christmas period.
It was, however, disturbing to learn that after spending almost $9 million back in 2005 purchasing vehicles, half of them are not working properly.
More money now has to be spent repairing these trucks to get them back on the road. In these hard times when this country needs to justify every cent spent, this is money that we can ill afford to spend. The minister has indicated that Government will have to outsource some of the vehicles in order to get them repaired.
We also cannot help but agree with Dr Lowe who put some of the blame for the mounting garbage squarely on the shoulders of some Barbadians who continue to dump indiscriminately.
While accepting some of the responsibility for the tardy and less than prompt service across the island, he pledged that those who are dumping garbage illegally will soon feel the full weight of the law.
This action has been long in coming and the minister needs to follow through on this promise.
Barbadians need to understand that we can ill afford to have a country riddled with garbage that is not just an eyesore to residents but to visitors to these shores. Our country is too dependent on tourism for this dirtiness to continue.
With Barbados set to open its doors to thousands of tourists who will descend on this destination in the coming winter season which starts on December 15, we need to clean up our act.
We therefore will hold the minister to his word that there should be some improvement in the collection of garbage before the Christmas rush. We hope, too, that the promised secret surveillance in hotspot areas frequented by illegal dumpers will also be in place, and we eagerly await the environmental police Dr Lowe pledged would be established to do patrols and given the same authority as National Conservation Commission rangers to arrest individuals.
We all need to play our part to keep Barbados clean. Our very lives depend on it. After all, the wealth of a nation depends on its health.
Indeed, this clarion call could not be better timed as we celebrate our Independence.
