.Govt orders residents to clear drains, assures of timely waste evacuation
The Governor of Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has urged members of the Edo State House of Assembly to expedite work on the bill for a law to prohibit trafficking in persons and establish the Edo State Task Force against Trafficking in Persons.
The bill, which was sent to the EDHA in January, is part of government’s efforts to institutionalise the fight against human trafficking in the state.
According to Obaseki, “The state government has adopted a multi-pronged approach which includes a law, aggressive campaigns at markets and across the broad spectrum of the media, stakeholder engagements, partnerships with the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) and international governments and bodies, in tackling the menace.”
He also appealed to the lawmakers to accelerate action on the bill for the establishment of the Edo State Development and Property Agency, which the governor said, would revolutionise the state’s housing sector.
“The state government envisions a robust housing sector with huge private sector investment that will address the housing and infrastructural deficit in the state. We are ready to replicate best practices in the built industry to ensure that standards in the industry are adhered to across the value chain,” he said.
The first reading of the EDPA Bill was on the floor of the house Monday last week, after which it was referred to the House Committee on Infrastructure and Rules, Business and Government House for further legislative input.
Similarly, the EDHA earlier in the week, commenced the clause-by-clause consideration of the Bill for a Law to prohibit trafficking in persons and establish the Edo State Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons.
Meanwhile, the Edo State government has urged residents in the state to clear gutters and embrace best practice in disposing their wastes as the rainy season sets in.
Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said that the early rains, though good for agriculture, could impact on the physical environment if proactive measures were not taken by residents to desilt drains and properly dispose their wastes.”
According to him, “the heavy rains are coming earlier than projected by the federal government weather monitoring agencies and could cut short the dry season window and impact on ongoing road construction work across the state.”
Osagie assured that efforts were being made by the appropriate agency of the government to reduce the down time of domestic wastes at collection points and evacuate debris from drainages.
“The Ministry of Environment is worried over the delay in evacuating debris on the road side and is currently simulating several options with a view to adopting the most effective way of dealing with this challenge.
“When the debris are left on the road side, the rains could wash them back into the gutters and when that happens, the surrounding environment will be flooded. People can be sacked from their homes and business places.
“We need a new attitude towards waste disposal and management as stakeholders in our human environment. Often times we bring home things we do not need, that end up in our trash cans.”
He maintained that the medium to long-term plans of the state government are to harness the energy generation potential in wastes and recycling/reprocessing through robust private sector investment, to create jobs, produce renewable energy and environmentally-friendly materials, among other benefits.
“The waste to wealth initiative has become very popular across the world and Edo State is ready to key into it and get its fair share of the initiative,” Osagie said.