PG Receives Considerable Grant from Japan to Tackle Waste Management
The Japanese government today gifted a grant in excess of four hundred thousand dollars to the Punta Gorda Town Council. The documents were signed in Belmopan and the Japan Government’s focus again, is to help tackle waste management challenges and other pollution problems. Our colleagues from Plus TV were on hand and provided us with footage of the handing over. Dalila Ical reports.
Dalila Ical, Reporting
The Punta Gorda Town Mayor today signed documents to receive a grant for over four hundred thousand Belize dollars from the government of Japan. The grant will finance the purchase of a compactor truck and a dump truck for the council.
Ashton McKenzie
Ashton McKenzie, Mayor, Punta Gorda Town
“We have never had the opportunity to basically acquire new machinery in its entirety. So, it’s definitely a very big gesture. This, i think, marks the single largest contribution ever made to the Punta Gorda Town Council outside of contributions made by the Government of Belize.”
“It puts us one step closer to making Punta Gorda shine. We definitely want to make it a green municipality and in order for us to do so having the necessary equipment is most essential.”
The signing was held today between Punta Gorda Town Mayor Ashton McKenzie and Hiroyuki Kubota, Ambassador of Japan to Belize.
Hiroyuki Kubota
Hiroyuki Kubota, Ambassador of Japan to Belize
“We recognize the seriousness of the waste management in Punta Gorda Town. At the same time we also learned this is a par t of the large picture of waste management, not only Punta Gorda Town but the whole coastal area, whole nation and the region. It is really a global issue. So, having an improved waste management at Punta Gorda is not for only the Punta Gorda Township but the beautiful coastline, that the people of Punta Gorda or Toledo District are proud of, can be protected.”
Ambassador Kubota says the efforts can also help with the management of plastic waste in the ocean; something Mayor McKenzie says is a constant challenge for that municipality.
Ashton McKenzie
“Being a coastal community we have been subjected to have to deal with debris from neighbouring countries which include Honduras as well as Guatemala. We also have the issue of dealing with sargassum, we also have the issue of dealing with mosquito related diseases which includes malaria and dengue, most of the time none household refuge which we don’t have the capability; I won’t say we don’t have but we don’t have the resources to dispose of those waste. Traditionally we would rent a truck or our good business partners, our friends would assist us with a truck, we put in the fuel and we do zone clean up campaigns. This project, if you notice, it has two sides to it. With the additional compactor we will be able to pick up garbage more frequently in our town. Presently it takes us approximately four days to clean the entire town of Punta Gorda but everybody’s garbage is collected once a week. With this additional compactor we will be able to increase our frequency for garbage collection and with the dump truck we will be able to utilize that to deal with none refuge when people cut down large trees, old vehicles, old scrap metals to ensure they don’t become eye sores or mosquito breathing areas within our community. So it is definitely a big, big contribution.”
Mayor McKenzie says they are expecting to receive the new trucks within three months time. Reporting for News Five, I am Dalila Ical.
