The Ondo state government has said that a private company it engaged during the administration of late Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu to manage waste in the state has failed to live up to expectations and its service is no longer needed.
To this end, the government said it has decided to disengage the company and started engaging Private Sector Participants (PSP) in the waste collection and ensuring proper environmental sanitation.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Oyeniyi Oseni, while speaking during the meeting with the PSP in Akure on thursday, said the State Waste Management Board would be empowered by the state government to perform its statutory responsibilities, as the State Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa is not glad seeing the environment being littered with waste.
Oseni pointed out that a private company in charge of waste collection in Ondo State in recent years has not been performing optimally.
In his words, “I want appeal to our people, the PSP, this is the era we need to come together, few days ago we inaugurated a committee to retrieve our waste equipments from ZL and others.
“We cannot continue to live in a dirty society, we do not need to go extra miles to employ private individuals to cater for our environment.
“(The waste private company) has failed us, we would collect all our equipments from them, upon contacting them to attend this meeting we were being blocked, all access to communicate them has proven abortive, we need the PSP to be back to work in all their zones.
“The Waste Management Authority would continue to savage the situation so that the society would be free from waste, I want to also make it clear that we are not owing any partner, we are not owing ZL.
He further said more recruitment process would be made, “We would recruit more PSP to assist the Government, we would unveil new model of waste collection, we are starting the waste management reform from the capital city (Akure)”.
He continued that there would be incentives for the PSP to perform their operations optimally.
“As part of our support, we are giving incentives that would be of relieve in the PSP operations, we are going to be transparent on the terms that would be attached to it, we are expecting them to be committed to the terms we are bringing on board.
We are going to organise leadership meetings and more Programs with the PSP and community leaders, this would smoothen their operations too, We expect the PSP to commence operation immediately.”
Oseni therefore charged residents to always collate their waste in a stable locations, so that it would bbe easier for the PSP to pick the waste.
During the meeting, the private sector participants Chairman, Olokungboye Wahab, appealed to the state government to find solution to the PSP challenges in the process of waste collection.
