By Awyetu Asabe Hope
The Lagos State Government has warned residents who fail to pay for waste management services provided by Private Sector Participation operators that they could face criminal sanctions.
The Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, disclosed this on Friday during a radio programme on the gains and challenges of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise in the state.
Wahab said the government was reviewing the waste management system and would introduce measures to ensure residents paid for services provided by PSP operators.
He said the “polluter-pays principle” was the standard for waste management globally, adding that some Lagos residents had chosen not to pay for waste collection services.
“All of these have adverse effects on the waste management system. However, we are now rejigging the system, and going forward, failure to pay for waste management services rendered will constitute a criminal offence,” he said.
The commissioner said the government had identified some shortcomings since the resumption of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise and was working to address them.
He also said the government was strengthening the regulation of PSP operators and reviewing the financial sustainability of their operations, including cost recovery and possible adjustments to enable them provide more efficient services.
Wahab, however, stressed that improved financial arrangements must be matched by transparency, accountability and quality service delivery.
He warned waste managers against using challenges at dumpsites and other operational difficulties as excuses for failing to provide services to residents.
“No PSP operator should use the challenges at the dumpsites or other operational difficulties as an excuse for failing to provide the required services to residents,” he said.
He also urged waste managers to meet their contractual obligations, maintain their fleets and ensure regular waste collection in their assigned areas.
The government is also intervening at the Solous dumpsite in Igando to ease pressure on other disposal sites and improve the turnaround time for waste trucks.
Wahab said effective enforcement would be necessary to ensure residents patronised designated PSP operators and stopped indiscriminate waste disposal on roads and other unauthorised locations.
The state government said in May that 931 people had been apprehended for waste management offences, while 239 facilities were sealed during monitoring and compliance operations.
The warning comes ahead of the monthly environmental sanitation exercise scheduled for Saturday, August 29, as the government steps up efforts to improve waste collection and disposal across the state.
