By Hudu Yakubu Abuja
The Director, Abuja Environmental Protection Board, AEPB, Mrs Kate Ocheze Ogbonna, has charged all waste and cleaning contractors on prompt and proper waste removal across the Federal Capital City saying routine check by the Board has shown they are lagging behind in their task.
Speaking during an interactive session with the contractors at the headquarters of the Board, Central Business District of the Abuja, Mrs Ogbonna, said she has been inundated with constant, unsavoury report from the supervisors who go round to monitor the daily performance of the cleaning and waste contractors.
According to Mrs Ogbonna, “The reports at my disposal from our supervisors, who monitor the performances the contractors are not too good; so, the meeting was to properly educate and guide these contractors on the full weight of their duties as waste managers and evacuators. We wanted them to know that there are standards and what we expect from them.”
‘We have set rules and agreements guiding their schedules and the routine. All we want is for the Federal Capital City to be clean’.
The Director further said the FCT Honourable Minister is keeping his promise of paying the contractors on time and so the contractors have no excuse not to deliver on the terms of agreement.
‘I am aware that there are challenges; every job has its challenges. Let them buy the needed equipment and engage more hands to make their job easy and seamless. The Board is willing to assist them, where necessary. They signed that they are capable’, she said.
On what the Board is doing to curb the hydra headed issue of indiscriminate dumping of construction waste, the helmsman of Abuja Environmental Protection Board said they are working in synergy with the Development Control, the office solely in charge of this aspect of waste on how to ensure construction waste are well disposed of.
Mrs Ogbonna used the medium to task residents and institutions doing business in the capital city to pay their waste and cleaning bills duly and to procure the right size of waste bins commensurate to their residences and place of business saying waste removal and management is a capital intensive job.
‘Residents need to do their part and we shall do ours. You cannot be owing and expect clinical waste removal. You cannot also have a bin meant for one household for a block of say, ten flats and expect it to hold the waste you generate until when the contractor’s trucks will come around. It will definitely overflow and mess up the environment. To ensure Abuja capital city remains clean, devoid of pollution and epidemic free, all must do their part’, the Director said.
In the same vein, Mr. Benjamin Enwerem, who is the Director, Solid Waste Management, North of AEPB said one of the major challenges the contractors brought before the management is the issue of night operation by some illegal sellers and fun fare operators who have road side night parties at different places.
He said these illegal night operators generate waste and litter the whole area thereby forming illegal waste dumps around residential and business areas. We have taken notice of this complaint and shall send our task force after them.
On his assessment of the performances of the contractors, Mr. Enwerem said though there are still lapses, they are doing better than last year as more capable hands have been injected into the cleaning force.
In another development, the Chairman, Association of Solid Waste Contractors, Mallam Ibrahim Babayo, said they were happy with the outcome of the meeting saying they have learnt a lot and are going to improve on their job by procuring more modern equipment, employ more hands and increase their times of going round to pick up waste.