The Ogun State Chairman of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria, Jolaoluwa Emmanuel has lamented a staggering sum of N650m bridging allowance the state government owed the waste managers.
According to Emmanuel, the state government’s inability to pay off this enormous debt in spite of multiple appeal letters has not only reduced their productivity but also resulted in the layoff of hundreds of workers and over 100 operators.
“The bridging payment is a result of the fact that not many people pay for the disposal of their refuse, some see it as pure responsibility of the government or part of the dividends of democracy. So, government make this bridging payment to make up for this shortfall
Explaining further, he said that the highway operators, who are in charge of managing public waste dumped across the state’s highways, have a four-month backlog totaling over N200 million, while the state government owes the waste managers an 18-month bridging allowance for general refuse disposal totaling over N450 million.
The AWMN chairman also lamented the state of the dumpsites across the state saying that many of them are in terrible form making it difficult to access them with their refuse disposal vehicles and should as a matter of priority be fixed before the rainy season begins.
He continued by saying that a lot of garbage managers are currently ill, and some are having trouble repaying their banks due to the facilities they have amassed to improve their efficiency
“Those who assist in managing the public waste on our highways are also owed over N200 million for the past four months.” The cost of operating has skyrocketed, therefore we are not finding things easy at all. What can we say about the price of replacement tires and parts when a liter of diesel currently costs N1500?
“Our efficiency is being challenged, we have tried to be patient till now but we may be forced out of business if we don’t have capital to work with. The dumpsites across the state are also not in good condition, the government should please help with the repairs of these dumpsites before the rain begins fully.
“We are using this medium to appeal to Gov Abiodun to please help us out, the suffering is so much but we can’t bear it anymore,” he added.
Speaking with news men, the Commissioner for Environment, Ola Oresanya said that the government is aware of the predicament of the waste managers and is already taking steps to ensure they are paid in a matter of days.
He urged them to maintain their composure and stand by their commitment to supporting the state’s public hygiene initiatives.
