…..As Solus, Olusosun dumpsites resume operations
…PSPs to deploy over 700 trucks
By Olasunkanmi Akoni
The Lagos State Government has warned Private Sector Participation (PSP) waste operators to deliver immediate results or face enforcement measures, following the reopening of the Solus and Olusosun dumpsites after months of closure.
The government said it had fulfilled its responsibility by rehabilitating the facilities and their access roads, leaving waste operators with no further excuses for the persistent refuse crisis across the state.
Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, gave the warning on Wednesday during an inspection of the previously closed Solus dumpsite in Alimosho Local Government Area.
Wahab said the government expected PSP operators to improve waste collection and evacuation across their areas of operation, stressing that residents deserved value for the services they paid for.
“Too much is given, so much more is expected. There are no more excuses,” the commissioner said, recounting his message to the leadership of the PSP operators.
“The state government has done its own bit; let your PSP members also put their skin in it and see how they can achieve what we set out jointly to achieve because they suggested we put this into play and now we’ve done it for them.”
According to him, the decision to reopen Solus followed proposals by waste operators to rehabilitate the facility rather than wait for the development of new dumpsites around Badagry and Epe.
He explained that Solus, located within Lagos West, serves several local government areas, including Alimosho, Ajeromi-Ifelodun, Mushin, Badagry, Ikeja, Ojo and Apapa.
The commissioner said the contractor handling the rehabilitation had assured the government that the repaired access road would last at least one year, subject to quarterly maintenance.
He added that the facility was expected to accommodate at least 100 trucks daily, significantly improving waste evacuation in the affected areas.
“100 trucks from this axis coming here to discharge gives us the comfort that our streets, our homes will not be littered with waste,” Wahab said.
Addressing complaints by residents over the failure of some PSP operators to collect refuse regularly, the commissioner said the state government would enforce its polluter-pays policy to ensure operators delivered the services for which residents paid.
He warned that the government would take necessary measures to hold defaulting operators accountable.
LAWMA restructuring
Wahab also confirmed a major restructuring of the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), ordered by the state governor, as part of efforts to improve waste management operations.
He announced the appointment of Juwon Akinyemi as Acting Managing Director, Dr Tjani Olorunwa as Acting Executive Director of Operations, and Kunle Adebiyi as substantive Executive Director of Finance.
The commissioner further disclosed that senior LAWMA staff on Grade Levels 13 to 17, with a few exceptions, had been redeployed to the mainstream civil service.
He said the changes were intended to inject fresh energy into the agency as the state transitions from a conventional waste management system to resource recovery.
PSPs promise improved service
Meanwhile, the National President of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), Olugbenga Adebola, welcomed the reopening of Solus, describing it as a major relief for operators who collectively manage a fleet of more than 700 trucks.
Adebola said the prolonged closure of accessible disposal facilities had forced waste operators to travel more than 120 kilometres outside Lagos to dispose of refuse at Shagamu, describing the situation as horrendous.
“As an operator, we are the happiest people today,” he said.
He pledged that operators would work with the government to ensure the facility was properly managed.
“We have told the commissioner and his team and the LAWMA team that we are going to co-own this place and ensure that we use this place as a model,” he added.
Adebola also commended the government for providing new bulldozers at the Solus facility, noting that the equipment would improve operations, reduce turnaround time and prevent queues of waste trucks.
He assured residents in the Alimosho axis, extending towards Iba, Festac, Badagry and parts of Agege, that waste evacuation would improve significantly within the next two weeks.
Echoing the commissioner’s warning, the AWAMN president issued a marching order to operators in the affected areas to intensify their efforts.
“Everybody needs to double their hustles. If you cannot fly, please be running. If you can’t run, please be working. If you can’t work, then crawl.
“But no more crawling, we are saying, no more crawling,” he warned.
While expressing optimism over the reopening of Solus, Adebola appealed to the state government to expedite the rehabilitation of four other outstanding disposal facilities, including those at Ewu-Elepe, Ikorodu, Oke-Aro and Badagry.
He said communities in Ikorodu, where the dumpsite had reportedly remained shut for nearly two months, would continue to experience waste disposal challenges until the facility was restored.
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