Ola Oresanya is the Managing Director of the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA). In this interview with Special Correspondent, Dada Jackson, he bares his mind on a number of issues, including the road map for LAWMA, its challenges, and private sector participation (PSP) in waste disposal.
Road Map
Since assuming office, I have striven to draw a road map for the agency. LAWMA has positioned itself as one of (if not) the best waste management agencies in Africa by virtue of our commitment to quality service in waste collection and management.
The agency has a road map which we intend to complete by 2020. We have achieved about 80 per cent of our projection and so you can appreciate the enormous work we have at hand.
With the road map in place, we are able to articulate our programme with a view to meeting the challenges at hand. So far, we have not deviated from the guidelines.
Vision of LAWMA
With the year gradually coming to an end, the vision of the agency in ensuring improvement in the collection and transportation of waste in the state I can say unequivocally has been achieved to a very large extent. We have been able to extend our frontiers by going into the hinterland.
Lagos is fast approaching the status of a mega city and therefore the volume of waste that would be generated is bound to rise. Our mandate entails ensuring a cleaner and filth-free environment.
Challenges
LAWMA is facing serious challenges in slum settlements but we are striving to improve on strategy in dealing with this problem. I can assure you that we remain undaunted in the quest to improve on slum settlements.
It is also important to stress that in these cluster settlements it is not easy to manage waste but we remain committed to ensuring that we do the right thing in respect of waste collection, disposal, and management; no matter the challenges we are confronted with.
I believe very strongly that being poor does not mean you have to be dirty. It is high time our people erased the mentality that because you are poor, you must be dirty. I think it does not jell. You can be poor and still be clean. As the adage goes, “Cleanliness is next to Godliness’’.
Projection
In nutshell, LAWMA is very determined to generate electricity from waste.
Position on PSP operators and cart pushers
The PSP operators scheme was introduced in order to create an environment for those who have the knowledge of waste collection and disposal to be part of ensuring a cleaner environment.
PSP operators also help to service the hinterland because LAWMA may not be able to reach all the nooks and crannies of the state.
It is rather unfortunate that the agency has been receiving complaints about some of these operators who are not performing their duties as expected, but that is not to say that we don’t have those ones that know their onions.
Those ones who fall below our benchmark will definitely be sanctioned and those that are performing will be encouraged to put in more of their best.
Because of the stringent measures LAWMA has put in place in respect of the activities of PSP operators, there is no way they won’t function with the best practices. It is also important to note that with time and adequate exposure, they will perform at optimal level.
But let me quickly mention here that with a scheme of well over 500 operators there is the tendency for some of them to be non-conforming. In case of any complaint, our number (5577) is available to members of the public.
As for cart pushers, Governor Babatunde Fashola has outlawed their activities in the state, hence Lagosians are advised to stop patronising them.
Those who patronise cart pushers are not helping the state government because cart pushers, after collecting refuse, dump them anywhere. Some even dump them in canals thereby blocking drain channels. This is part of the reason for flooding after rainfall.
My appeal is that instead of patronising cart pushers Lagosians should patronise PSP operators by paying a token for their services.
Plans for the riverine areas
LAWMA has intensified marine waste collection in the riverine areas of the state, particularly on the Lekki and Badagry coastal lines in order to ensure that they are clean at all times.
The agency has discovered that over 20 black spots of waste dumps are along the shore lines. This, we found out, is as a result of the commercial activities of sand miners, local fisher men, and other business operators on a daily basis.
Dumping of refuse indiscriminately along the shorelines is very dangerous as it affects water quality, disrupts marine commercial activities, navigation by security agents, and has negative impact on tourism and general aesthetics, as well as environmental and health effects.
The LAWMA marine waste evacuation project commenced in 2010 with Lagos Island because it is a central business district (CBD). The scheme has now extended to other areas of the state as a result of its success.
The marine waste disposal initiative was put in place to complement the efforts of the agency in maintaining a cleaner environment. The areas being covered include Ipakodo in Ikorodu, Iddo, Snake Island, and Oworonshoki, just to mention a few.
The programme will certainly continue and LAWMA’s advocacy team shall equally step up an enlightenment campaign on proper waste management and the health implication of indiscriminate dumping of waste.
Staff welfare and employment for the physically challenged
We have done extremely well. This is not tantamount to blowing one’s trumpet but the truth must be told, as it were. The agency has since my assumption of office taken the issue of staff welfare to the next level.
LAWMA staff are well remunerated. This is predicated on the nature of their job.
Another thing we have done is that our road sweepers now face on-coming vehicles instead of what obtained in the past where they had their backs turned to on-coming vehicles. This is for them to be alert to any unusual development and quickly avoid imminent danger.
The agency has also put in place what we call “hazard allowance” for our road sweepers in case of any untoward development.
Another unique thing is the introduction of “mechanical sweepers” between 12 midnight and 4am.
Without sounding immodest, I believe we are the first agency (I stand to be corrected) to engage the services of the physically challenged in community service.
We engage the services of some physically challenged persons to help in sweeping bridges. You can find some of them on pedestrian bridges in Ikeja, Onipanu, and Palmgrove, just to name a few. They are on the payroll of the agency.
This is a way of encouraging them and also to alleviate their situations. We have been able to put smiles on their faces, and by so doing make them feel to be a part of the society instead of subjecting them to ridicule.
LAWMA will continue to give those that are physically challenged succour in its own little way.
Why a brand ambassador
Recently we decided to have an ambassador for LAWMA in the person of a young boy of about 10 years, John Bosco.
This is a way of encouraging the youths to be conscious of their environment. The choice of John was arrived at because of his concerted efforts at ensuring that the environment is kept clean at all times.
When other young boys and girls see what he is doing in propagating a clean environment they too will be motivated to do the same.
So far, we have achieved our objective in this direction and hopefully, other youths would key into this lofty ideal.