by Devonne Cornelius
St. Kitts and Nevis (WINN): Hon. Cleone Stapleton-Simmonds, Opposition Parliamentarian says there is “nothing progressive” about the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority Bill, 2021, which was passed at a sitting of the Nevis Island Assembly on Tuesday, July 13, 2021, in Charlestown.
“I must say, the first observation is that the Bill is somewhat of a standard procedural legislation. There is nothing in my respectful opinion progressive about this Bill. It does not encourage innovation in research or technologies to manage solid waste in this digital era.
You heard it from the mover [Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams] of the bill as well as the member for Nevis 1[Hon. Spencer Brand], in his support for the resolution, state quite clearly that the facility we have presently, that we perhaps have surpassed that facility and there is need either expansion or a separate facility so that we can adequately manage waste. What is stopping the government from putting this infrastructure in place?,” the opposition member of parliament said.
The Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority Bill, 2021 which repeals and replaces the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority Ordinance Cap.3.03 was tabled by Hon. Hazel Brandy-Williams, Junior Minister of Health in the Nevis Island Administration earlier this year.
The new ordinance will provide for the management of solid waste including its collection, storage and disposal in conformity with the best environmental practices and for anything else related.
It will also seek to implement a practical system that allows the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority to have full oversight of the management of the process undertaken by the authority.
The Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority Ordinance which was enacted in January 2003 was modelled from the St. Christopher and Nevis Solid Waste Management Corporation Act 1996. That Ordinance established the Nevis Solid Waste Management Authority and gave it the responsibility for solid waste collection, storage, treatment and disposal in Nevis.
The sitting also saw the introductions and first readings of the Nevis International Insurance (amendment) Bill, 2021, and the Nevis Building Contractors Registration and Regulation Bill, 2021.
