Litter wardens need to more visible and on the field to combat illegal dumping which contributed to devastating floods across the country, says Rural Development Minister Kazim Hosein.
Hosein, who is acting as Minister of Works and Transport, has been touring several areas affected by prolonged flooding over the last few days said the illegal dumping of rubbish contributed to the devastation.
Hosein said he would be asking all corporations to ensure litter wardens are more visible.
“I will ask the mayors to use the litter wardens properly. We want to ensure people see them and they need to be more visible and proactive. I want them (litter wardens) go to the schools. They need come out more. They on the back burner,” he said.
He said climate change was another factor for the incessant rainfall this past weekend.
“We need to find a solution to the flooding problem and everyone has to put their heads together to prepare for the rainy season,” he said.
Nadra Nathai-Gyan, chairman of the Environmental Management Authority, said human activity was a factor in the flooding experienced across the country.
Nathai-Gyan said the changing weather patterns were also caused by the climate change effect.
“The flooding is because of the unusual rain and what we are having unexpected. It’s a related the process. The climate change is the unpredictability of the weather and intense rainfall causes flooding because it’s too much at one point of sustained rainfall,” she said.
However, Nathai-Gyan said the dumping of waste in waterways and excavation of hillsides and slopes exacerbates the situation.
“The waterways are clogged when you cut down the hillside. We are our own worse enemy when it comes to disasters,” she said.
Nathai-Gyan said some 10-15 years ago we began losing our coastlines in Cedros, Icacos and Manzanilla.
“The sea is coming in because of climate change. If you go down Icacos it is dramatic where there was former land-we are losing,” she said.
She said citizens need to have a change of behaviour when it came to dumping garbage.
“One of the initiatives of the EMA was the ICARE programme and you have the bins throughout the country for recycling so it would not be dumped into the environment. This an education programme to encourage change in behaviour,” she said.