Joey Hew tours NiCE clean-up sites

(CNS Local Life): Two days ahead of the completion of the two-week National Community Enhancement (NiCE) initiative, which officially ended Friday, 19 July, Minister for Commerce, Planning and Infrastructure Joey Hew visited the temporary employees working at locations across Grand Cayman.

The two-hour bus tour on Wednesday, 17 July, took in ongoing and recently completed clean-up work with Hew meeting project staff. He also used the field trip to speak with supervisory staff from the National Roads Authority and the departments of Environmental Health and Public Works about the initiative, stated a government press release.

Starting off at South Sound dock to see how the sea and wind state affected the amount of sargassum reaching the shore, Hew then travelled eastward, with his tour also including meeting crews undertaking roadside verge clearing in Midland Acres, and another team collecting litter and cleaning the beach near the Old Man Bay dock.

He was “particularly impressed” with efforts to clear sargassum at the Frank Sound junction launch ramp, the release said. 

“The tour was a good opportunity for me to talk directly with NiCE workers and find out their day-to-day experiences of working on the project,” Hew said. “The NiCE crews have been a common sight recently particularly on our beaches, roadsides and parks. It was important for me to take the time to meet and thank them on behalf of the government and my ministry for their efforts.

“This trip clearly showed the pride many participants take in beautifying the community and further confirmed my opinion that sargassum is a long-term issue that requires a concerted long-term and cross-agency solution.”

The NiCE winter project is scheduled to run for three weeks from Monday, 25 November to Friday, 13 December. 

Tags: Beach clean-up, Featured, National Community Enhancement Project, NiCE, Sargassum

Category: Employment, Environment, Local News