Waste management reforms coming – Adeniji

Mr Segun Adeniji, General Manager, Lagos Waste Management Authority
(LAWMA), says the waste management challenges facing the Lagos
metropolis will soon be over when the state government’s reforms take
effect.
Adeniji gave the assurance in Lagos.
He said that the new waste management reforms were aimed at ensuring a
cleaner environment in the state.
“Our waste management sector is currently undergoing a major reform.
In March last year, a new bill was signed into law on the waste
management sector, producing a single legislation that covers the
entire environment sector in the state.
“That same law has made LAWMA a regulatory body, as against the time
when LAWMA was only carrying out 90 per cent operations and 10 per
cent regulations.
“From this year henceforth, all operations will be carried out by a
competent body called Visionscape International, and the agency will
handle all waste and refuse issues,” he said.
Adeniji said that 35 per cent of the equipment required for the onset
of waste evacuation in the Lagos metropolis had arrived.
According to him, the company will commence the clearing of waste in
a fortnight with the available equipment.
“We will soon start living under the conditions of a new programme
called the `Cleaner Lagos Initiative’ (CLI) in the next few weeks when
the equipment rolls out.
“The little challenges we are facing now are due to the withdrawal of
services by the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators, who had
issues with the state government because of the new reform about to
take place, which made them stop collecting the waste.
“The residents, too, were not cooperating by paying their dues for
refuse collection services but I assure the residents that pockets of
refuse seen here and there will be a thing of the past once the CLI
becomes operational very soon.
“There will be a little pain for us to get a greater joy,” he added.
Adeniji said that dumpsites were being prepared for the new reform
programme, while reconstruction works were underway at the Epe
dumpsite.
“In the next few months, two dumpsites will be constructed in Ikorodu
and Badagry for effective waste disposal services,” he said.
He called on Lagos residents to exercise more patience, as
intervention trucks had started going round to evacuate the waste
which was generated during the recent festive period.