You know, I am continually impressed with the Executive Director of Jamaica's National Solid Waste Management Authority (NSWMA) - Mrs. Joan Gordon-Webley.
[Yes friends, the NSWMA collects our garbage. :)]
She is one of the government's few heads of agencies who's serving her public customers well, as well as
earning new revenues for the Jamaican government.
She not only ensures the cleanliness of Jamaica's parishes, but when there is a problem, she proactively seeks to solve it.
Additionally, she readily makes herself available to the media, when her agency comes "under fire" from (is criticized by) the public.
The NSWMA used to have a lot of problems with workers who'd bun the dump at Riverton City in Kingston, to retaliate against decisions made by the management of the NSWMA.
Since she took up the position as Executive Director of the NSWMA, nearly two (2) years ago, incidences of fires at the dump, due to labour disputes, have decreased substantially.
She has also been able to mobilize her workers, so that when there is a fire...caused by incendiary materials in the dump, they actively work at outing the fire, instead of having it burn for days on end.
(You have to understand that the Riverton City Dump is in the vicinity of densely populated residential areas of Riverton City, Patrick City, Washington Gardens, Cooreville Gardens and Duhaney Park in Kingston.
The burning of the dump causes respiratory illnesses in it's nearby residents, in addition to being a traffic hazard for persons driving on Spanish Town Road, a major thoroughfare beside the dump).
(Picture of a Solid Waste Facility in Kampala, Uganda)
Both she and her workers have found novel ways of using the materials at the dump to out fires...thus decreasing her need for help from the Fire Services.
But one thing that has really had me applauding how this lady works, for us as Jamaicans, is her tenacity for making the right decisions, in our best interest.
E.g. last night she announced on television, that the NSWMA will be manufacturing compost - organic compost for the organic farming niche. She says there's a market for it and named the Coffee Industry Board as one of her first customers.
...She revealed that there is a demand for organically-grown Jamaican coffee - renown as one of the best coffees in the world.
This venture will allow her to make new revenues for the NSWMA, that she can reinvest in the agency, as the government's coffers are too limited to properly finance the operations of the agency.
The NSWMA will also be building a well at the National Heroes Circle (which houses the remains of our National Heroes), which is a dust bowl (meaning, pure dust)...
The water from this well will be used to water the grounds, so as to keep the dust levels down, as well as aid in the maintenance of the park.
...Thus decreasing the need to use Jamaica's limited water supply to do the above maintenance operations.
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Congratulations to you and your team at the NSWMA, Mrs. Gordon-Webley!
...May you continue to:
1) Act in the best interest of Jamaicans
2) Show other government agency-heads how Jamaican agencies can be run as profitable business entities, whilst giving us the public, great customer service!
Thank you!
[Friends, please read this article: "Solid
Waste Big Business- Gordon Webley", which provides additional insight into the business mind of Mrs. Gordon-Webley.
I would like to thank:
1) World Bank Philippines for the use of their Flickr inset photo entitled, "Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility".
It shows how the town of Teresa in Rizal Province, is helping improve the quality of Laguna Lake, the Philippines' largest body of water, through its Integrated Solid Waste Management Facility (ISWMF)
2) Sustainable sanitation for the use of her Flickr photo, entitled, "Solid waste in Mulago, Kampala".
It demonstrates Kampala's efforts at recycling plastic bottles. The company "Plastic Recycling Industries" is active in that business. (Kampala is the capital of Uganda, a country in Africa.)]
Gillian
Sources Include
1) Television Jamaica's Nightly News at 7:00 p.m., February 22,2010
2) Article, "Solid Waste Big Business- Gordon Webley", Jamaica Information Service, May 14,2009
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