By Edeniyere Abraham Osose
Edo State has become noted for its rapid economic growth among the comity of states in Nigeria as it continues to witness the influx of investors and businesses from other parts of the country and beyond, as a result of the innovation and commitment of the current government to create a business-friendly environment in the State.
Operation Clean Edo is an environmental program championed by the Edo State Waste Management Board (ESWMB) which is aimed at making the State one of the cleanest in the country amongst other initiatives of the agency.
The program supports regular sweeping, clearing of grasses, beautification, curbing indiscriminate dumping of refuse as well as modern methods of waste disposal and management in order to sustain and improve upon the environment.
The agency maintains that the negative impact of indiscriminate waste disposal in the State has assumed a worrisome dimension, not only because of population explosion in the State but largely connected with wrong attitude of indiscriminate disposal of waste, poor sanitation habits of either burning or burying of waste and the poor patronage of accredited waste managers.
The condition necessitated the ESWMB to mandate the relevant agencies of government and the government accredited waste managers to effectively manage the cleanness of the State.
The Board has initiated a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) scheme where registered or certified private waste managers are given specific zonal areas in the State to supervise and manage waste generated in such areas of jurisdiction.
The waste managers are expected to move from house to house including public or business premises on a regular basis to evacuate waste in such facilities for final disposal at government accredited dump sites.
Proper monitoring by the ESWMB field workers and supervisors is geared towards enhancing quality and effective service delivery of ensuring consistent cleanness of the State.
They supervisors monitor workers on the field on a regular basis which include the daily road sweepers and other fieldworkers who render sanitation services to the public or their customers. ESWMB has an active customer care line which residents could utilize for complaints and comments as it affects waste management and other matters relating to environmental sanitation in the State. The numbers are: 2348109670790 and 2348209670791.
In the same vein, a website has been created by ESWMB as an alternative for service users to make payments. The innovation is aimed at proper monitoring of the quality of services provided and compliance on the part of the clients so as to coordinate all stakeholders in the waste management business in a manner that is transparent, efficient and effective.
It is worthy of note that the initiatives by ESWMB have enhanced the standard of waste disposal and management in the State.
The Board’s Manager, Mr. Charles Imariagbe has appealed to residents to desist from indiscriminate dumping of refuse in their environs as there is zero tolerance for such act, assuring residents that the unbreakable synergy with the law enforcement agencies and the mobile court of arbitration is still very much in place to prosecute offenders irrespective of their status in the society.
