At noon today - we caught the mayor at another event and asked her about the release -which - incidentally she was hearing for the first time:….

Jules Vasquez
"The employees of the company intend to picket City Hall on Monday between 8 am to 12 noon; the company has instructed its attorneys to recover monies. What's up with that?"

Zeniada Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
"The owner of the waste control company is a good man, a decent man. I will speak with him directly to ensure that it does not come to that level. This is a matter that I will deal with to ensure that there is no such protest and there is no such need for protest."

Jules Vasquez
"How about the interruption of service in terms of, they say they'll scale back on pickup of garbage?"

Zeniada Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
"Again I will be discussing with him because I believe with fairness we should be able to dialogue. I am willing for us to sit and dialogue one-on-one. Something can be worked out."

Jules Vasquez
"One reading this it seems that it's a the point like 'show me the money.' I don't think he wants to hear from you that he is a good man and a kind man or that he wants to dialogue. 'Show me the money' that's what this release is saying."

Zeniada Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
"Listen, that's why I told you at the end of the day, Jules this situation is not a new situation, we have since had a financial controller in place so the owner can see this isn't something that the council wants to do, I mean this is the same situation we faced before even now with a financial controller it's the same this that is happening."

Jules Vasquez
"But obviously somebody is being paid and I don't see BML saying that they want to picket, last year it was them so it would indicate to me and I don't know this that maybe they are being paid and Waste Control is not."

Zeniada Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
"There will be some people who will say well Mayor or council, the grass will continue grow, grow! But the garbage have to pick up and that is something that people will say so please make sure you pay Waste Control. Now that's something that we can discuss as a council, I won't just......[Jules Vasquez - obviously the financial controller hasn't been doing that] Well that's a matter that you will need to take up with the financial controller."

Jules Vasquez
"But who decides who he pays? You don't make the decision?"

Zeniada Moya-Flowers, Mayor of Belize City
"No, it's not that, we as a council do make decisions [Jules Vasquez - but then he goes and does his own thing?] I won't get into that. at the end of the day you have to have resources to be able to make payments, at this time resources are very limited to be able to making payments and its simple because of the slow season, we will ensure that we increase payments next month. This is something we will be committing to Waste Control and I am hoping that the owner will in fact try to work with us. I will be committing to paying him, making increased payments next month so he must can work with us, I know it's difficult and he is a private company but I will be asking him personally to work with the council."

The Mayor departs for a conference tomorrow - so presumably those meetings will be held before then. Waste control had no comment but says it has instructed its attorney to take steps to recover the money.

Channel 7

Get ready for the stench: Waste Control to limit scheduled pickup of garbage

There’s a standoff between Waste Control and the Belize City Council over the perennial problem of garbage. The city has been unable to meet its obligations and Waste Control says it will be reducing garbage collection on the Northside of the City. So get ready for the stench. The Belize Waste Control notified residents today that beginning Monday, just after the Garifuna Settlement Day weekend, it will put into effect a limited schedule. The often cash strapped municipal government is in arrears with the sanitation company for the past four months and since it cannot be assured that CitCo will pay what it owes, the company has also decided to picket City Hall on Monday. If you think garbage collection on the north side is the only problem, well think again because the problem spreads to schools where the pileup is already creating a problem for school managements and students. Belize Waste Control has also deemed that it will no longer provide service for free. But the schools say they can’t afford the charges and on Tuesday the Belize District Association of Primary Principals met and decided that they’re not going to pay. So will the garbage just continue to pile up or will Belize Waste Control give in and waive the fees? We asked Mayor Zenaida Moya Flowers today for an update on the situation.

Zenaida Moya Flowers, Belize City Mayor

zenaida moya flowers

“We will be dialoguing with the owner of the Waste Control Company to ensure that we can come up with an amicable solution. We will be doing this in tandem with the Ministry of Education because they are responsible for the schools as well as the Principals Association and the general managers of the different schools to ensure that whatever can be worked out is worked out. I had already informed the company that schools operate by a budget. That budget has already been approved and that is what they are working on this year and that budget does not include payment for garbage disposal. So there has to be something that can be done to ensure that they continue picking up the garbage, understanding fully well that the schools will not be able to pay for it this school year.”

Delahnie Bain

“It was decided earlier that the fee would have been suspended until it was all sorted out but apparently they were still being charged?”

Zenaida Moya Flowers

“Again, that is a matter that we will be discussing and whilst we cannot force a private company to not charge for services rendered, we’re hoping that an amicable solution will be reached nonetheless and that discussions can be had that perhaps for the next coming school year that if in fact it reaches to the fact that some payment has to be made for the pickup of schools then discussions will be made but for the next school year.”

Channel 5

The Garbage Problem In-Hand Or Out Of Hand?

As a result the company mentioned that they would have picketed in front of City Hall this morning. But that did not happen today, and, to hear the mayor tell it, they have come to an agreement - even if north side garbage was not picked up today.

Mayor Zenaida Moya-Flowers
"We are still in dialogue and in good faith they have held off on all possible protest; we are still in dialogue and will continue that dialogue thereafter. It's a matter of payment, I believe that financial controller will be working on that since that's his area the he is supposing to be dealing with."

We tried contracting Belize Waste Control this evening- but they refused any comment.

Channel 7