Firm decries States’ failure to manage waste

A Port Harcourt-based waste management firm, the Initiates Plc (TIP), has decried the inability of governments to manage refuse disposal despite billions of funds injected yearly on refuse management across the country.

Chairman of TIP, Mr. Joe Anosikeh, who spoke at the 18th Yearly General Meeting of the firm, regretted that some state governments spend about N700million monthly on refuse collection yet the cities remain dirty and polluted.

The waste management stressed that the exposure of the citizens to hazardous environment was negatively impacting on the workforce and economy.

According to him, State Government has over the years, been managing public waste, by collecting and disposing waste but the time has come when government can no longer carry the burden alone by spending between N500 million to N700 million monthly (N6 billion yearly) managing waste without tangible results, while the cities remain littered and polluted.

Lack of proper waste management, he said, affects the economy, increases sickness, and reduces value of properties and hounds investors.

To check this ugly situation, Anosikeh called on state governments to hand over waste management to private organisations, adding that a policy for private-government partnership in waste management would enable the managers create wealth, control diseases and check hunger in the country.

According to him, when waste is properly managed through the public-private partnership, government can invest the huge funds it spends yearly on waste to other positive areas of the economy such as power, roads and other capital projects that can improve the living standard of Nigerians.

He noted that globally, waste management industries are growing in innovation; expertise and service delivery and Nigeria cannot be left behind.

“Nigeria economy is gradually sliding into being driven by open- market forces based on cost effectiveness and efficient service delivery.

The implication of this in the waste management industry is growing in expertise and innovation, competitiveness, and waste accountability.

“The current economic situation in the country has further triggered off in the industry, a shift of responsibility from government to individual and businesses, a shift from government provision of service to private sector participation above all increasing demand for hazardous waste management service”, he stated.