THE PRESENCE OF A TRACTOR at the Mangrove Pond Landfill is a common practice, and it comes at market price.
That is the assertion of Minister of the Environment and Drainage, Dr Denis Lowe, amid questions being raised over Government’s rental of a tractor at the landfill.
“As it relates to the piece of equipment on the landfill, adequate research will show that that has been standard practice at the SSA [Sanitation Service Authority] as far back as the early 2000s,” he stated.
Dr Lowe said if the equipment at the landfill for some reason was unable to perform the daily services required, the SSA rented a piece of equipment at market price to provide those services.
He explained that the landfill required daily compressing of garbage to ensure the volume metric requirements to manage the rate at which the landfill filled up were imposed. This was done, he said, through the services of a D8 or D9 caterpillar or tractor.
“If the service is not immediately available, the Authority runs the risk of reducing the available space in the landfill at a rate that would result in the need of having to spend another $26 to $30 million to dig another hole or create another cell,” the Minister pointed out.
He disclosed that another vendor had quoted a higher figure for the rental of a tractor, but that quote was not accepted. However, Dr Lowe said that given the immediacy for the required service, management at the SSA had to make a decision. (BGIS)
