27th October, 2017
By sunday Alade
This has been the question agitating the minds of concerned community stakeholders with particular reference to waste disposal that poses health hazard to every resident of the community.
It is unfortunate that the administration of Governor Ambode is not viewing the waste management as a critical business that deserves attention of professionals, otherwise leasing the dump sites to unprofessional wouldn’t have come up at all.
It would be recalled that LAWMA the agency of Government is responsible for the collection and disposal of Municipal and Industrial wastes in Lagos State.
LAWMA was created in 1992 by Edict No. 55. The Environmental Sanitation Law of 2000 empowers LAWMA to provide commercial services to the State and Local Governments.
Generally, the overall goal of Waste Management in Lagos State is to effectively collect, sort, transport, store and dispose wastes generated by all populous groups, commercial, industrial and domestic etc using most economically sustainable means available hence, the partnership with private sector called PSP Operators that have been playing an increasingly significant role in Waste Management till date.
The idea of taking away the waste management from LAWMA is a dysfunctional template that will cause Lagos State, “the centre of Excellence” to experience cholera epidemic as every nook and crannies of the metropolis is littered with refuse.
The research reveals that the uncollected wastes is connected to the plan of government to relieve LAWMA – PSP Operators of their duties in the collection of domestic waste and the dump sites where over 300 trucks’ drivers are subjected to stay on queue on the dump site for days waiting to dispose their collected wastes and in addition made to pay #2, 000 as additional dumping fee aside from the official per day after the payment for docket which costs #2, 000 and this cut across the dump sites in the State [Olusosun, Ojota, Epe, Igando
These two dump sites are cases study of misplaced priority on the part of companies running the sites on lease as it only concerns with collection of money without adequate plan to decongest the long queue of trucks at the dump site couple with the fact that the only tractor to clear way for incoming wastes broke down as a result of improper maintenance thereby slowing down the pace of work at the site, and causing the refuse to litter every place in the communities un evacuated.
There are three dump sites at Igando including the recycling center on both sides of the road at a walking distance to one another.
The Igando main dump site could be accessed in three dimensions as routes if channeled accordingly that could ease the congestion of these trucks at the dump site. But the company in charge of this project believed to have no proven track record of recycling plant in line with wastes management. But this company has bitten more than it could chew by accepting the contract to manage wastes in Oyo State.
Another question is why the waste management must be politicized at the expense of high health risk of the community people?
The government is continuity, the structure and institution the amiable Governor met when ascending the mantle of leadership should be maintained.
However, it would be in the interest of Lagosians if his administration could concentrate on rehabilitation of infrastructure that has to do with everyday life of Lagosians in line with dividend of democracy Vis – avis the sustainability of effective waste management he met on ground.
Perhaps, if he beams his light on Wastes Management perhaps, as top most priority of his administration, the recommendation should have been on the recycling of wastes generated plant and not the reduction of these PSP Operators by 80%, every citizen deserves greatness but not to be crippled by structural and institutional dysfunction.
The ultimate objective is to jumpstart a research framework built around the urgency of taking LAWMA to the next level and not to replace LAWMA with Visionscape, a foreign company.
In this context, Nigeria as a whole urgently requires a public private partnership paradigm that catalyzes an entrepreneurial spirit necessary for achieving developmental goals in the area of wastes recycling. This area, if properly harnessed will not only create job opportunities but serves as revenue generation for the governments.
It is on this note, that all the PSP Operators need to be re orientated on Wastes Management with government playing its normal role and after, any PSP Operators that is found wanting be sanctioned, and the investors with good track record on wastes management be made to restructure the dump sites with the recycling plants.
Let’s not forget in a hurry the Yoruba and Hausa adage that says: “OBA MEWA IGBA MEWA” and “SARKI GOMA SAMONI GOMA” literally means ten kings with different policies which also translates into who ever governs when the citizens enjoy will never be forgotten and likewise who governs to cause hardship to the citizens would not be forgotten, too.