Commits to 10-year development plan to replace old trucks
To ensure a cleaner city, the Lagos State Government is committed to a 10-year development plan under which 100 new CNG compactor trucks would be procured for use next year.
The Managing Director of Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) Dr Muyiwa Gbadegesin, during a media parley in Ikeja, yesterday, disclosed that subsequently, the state would be introducing between 200 to 250 new trucks every year.
“To keep Lagos clean, we still need compactor trucks. Altogether, we need about 2,000 trucks; 1,000 for the day-to- day fleet and 1,000 for back up.
“This is a long-term investment package that would be supported by a state-wide billing system. We will undertake an enumeration of every household and billing by the state government. Through automation, you will get a bill from the state government. When you pay and once we confirm that the Private Sector Participation (PSP) operators have done the job, we pay them,” he said.
Gbadegesin reiterated LAWMA’s commitment towards transparency and accountability in the system, adding: “We believe that Lagos residents are ready to pay for waste collection if they will get good service, and that is what we will ensure, going forward.”
He also stated that as part of measures to sanitise the waste collection and disposal system and ensure standards, the agency terminated the contract of about 22 PSP waste operators for under-performance this year and has gone ahead to give the slot to new ones that are ready to do business.
He announced plans by the state to acquire 500 mobile compactor tricycles by the middle of next year to address the surging wage burden.
The MD said this became imperative because many areas are very difficult to reach because of the narrowness of the roads and the inaccessibility of some.
“We are running this system in Ibeju Lekki. The Chairman of Ibeju Lekki Local Council, Sesan Olowa, came to us about a year ago complaining that the PSP operators in the area were not going into the communities and that he wanted to introduce tricycle compactors. Around the same time, we got information about an entrepreneur who just brought in tricycle compactors. So, we advised that both parties could collaborate. Today, they are running that system so well and the people have embraced it.
“We have decided to replicate this in other parts of Lagos. We had a meeting with all local governments recently where they all pledged to support the new system,” he said.
Gbadegesin reiterated that the adoption of the new mobile compactor tricycle could also absorb some of the cart-pushers. “The PSP operators can buy some, engage cart-pushers and put them on salary. We can now have a more efficient system for Lagos.”
He reaffirmed his agency’s commitment to a cleaner environment, urging residents to stop dumping refuse on roads and in canals. He warned that those caught disposing refuse in drainage channels and unauthorised places would contend with the provision of the state’s sanitation laws.
Advising all residents to embrace source separation, he urged all to stop throwing everything away together, as done in advanced countries.
“Ninety per cent of what you throw away has value. We must start sorting that waste, collecting it and giving it to those who are in need of it. Waste to wealth is the key to the survival of Lagos. When you go to Olusosun and Solous 3, you will see it.
“In Lagos, we must move to a point where we ban landfill sites, and that is what we are moving towards as a state government. We have commenced the process of decommissioning Olusosun and Soluos 3 within the next 18 months. We have already gone into two months out of that 18 months. Just give us an allowance for plus or minus. We are committed to decommissioning them,” he added.
