CEPEP workers told don’t expect anything free

Acting Public Utilities Minister, Mustapha Abdul- Hamid, has advised workers attached to the Community Environmental and Protection Enhancement Programme. (CEPEP), not to “expect anything for free” but to “work hard” towards improving both the physical and social infrastructure of society. He was delivering the feature address at the Solid Waste Management Company Limited’s (SWMCOL), 3rd Thanksgiving and family day at Skinner Park, San Fernando, yesterday.

Deputising for Prime Minister, Patrick Manning, he said critics of the programme did not “understand the vision” which had been created out of a “strong sense of compassion” for the less fortunate in society. “They, are afraid of the transformation, the physical and social transformation that the CEPEP programme can achieve,” he said. However, he said CEPEP’s success relied on the dedication of the hundreds of workers and contractors adding the best way to give thanks was through “hard work.”

“There are those who believe that things can come easily, but we understand that success is as a result of a long hard difficult road,” he said. Abdul-Hamid added: “So we don’t expect anything easy, we don’t expect anything for free. We expect to be rewarded for our hard labour.” Also addressing the thanksgiving was SWMCOL chairman, Ray Braithwaite, who called on Govern-ment to consider the addition of organic farming to the programme’s portfolio. He also praised the clean-up work done in Grenada after the passing of Hurricane Ivan last September, saying this was a testament to the viability of the programme.