The management of ZL Global Alliance (ZLGA), the private company partnering Ondo State on integrated waste management has maintained that monitoring and enforcement of existing sanitation laws in the state will go a long way to address waste management challenges in the state.
The Group Managing Director of ZL Global Alliance, Dr. Abiola Bashorun, who stated this at a press conference in Akure, said putting in place monitoring and enforcement teams would enhance attitudinal change towards environmental sanitation.
Bashorun, who advocated for a genuine collaboration between relevant government authorities and the public to tackle the menace of indiscriminate waste disposal, said the state would rank among the neatest in the country if indiscriminate dumping of waste was addressed.
She assured residents of the state that waste deposited on major highways and major streets around the state would be a thing of the past within weeks, saying the company had never failed to discharge its duties in accordance with the mandate given to it by the state government.
The ZL Global Alliance boss, however, called on residents of the state to imbibe the attitude of proper waste disposal with the use of waste bins instead of indiscriminate dumping by the roadside.
She advocated that the state government should empower ZLGA to perform enforcement and monitoring to put an end to the ceaseless littering of waste on the streets by the residents, noting that failure of the state government to arrest and prosecute residents who continuously dump waste on major streets had made the situation worse.
Bashorun said: “this leads us to the crux of the matter. ZL Global Alliance is a private company that cannot carry out enforcement of government environmental laws.
“It is the duty of the Ondo State government through the Ministry of Environment and Waste Management Authority to enforce these laws and ensure the cleanliness of the state. We are going to sort this out, we wish we can carry out enforcement and monitor waste management if empowered.
“Since ZL Global Alliance came into Ondo State, the company has not neglected its duties and responsibilities as explicitly spelt out in the contractual agreements with the state government, principally in the management of public waste and other matters thereto related.”
She frowned at some situations where workers of the company resumed clearing of waste on major streets across the state as early as 5:00am, but only to see the whole streets littered again before 8:00am.
“The Ondo State Waste Management Authority as well as the parent ministry, the Ministry of Environment, should also wake up to assigned responsibilities of enforcing environmental laws, rules and regulations. It is not enough to go out only on monthly environmental sanitation days, much more is required.”
The ZL Global Alliance boss advocated for a special specialized trash collection truck in every neighbourhood instead of indiscriminate dumping of waste by the residents, saying this would also help.
“There is a need for residents to buy refuse bag and baskets and put their dirts for easy evacuation instead of the habitual practices of throwing wastes into drains and rivers especially during rain”, she said.
Bashorun also disclosed the company’s involvement in the mechanical channelisation of the rivers across major cities in the state to stem down the incidence of flooding in the state, while the issue of illegal dumpsites had been addressed.
Bashorun however, lamented that the company was not properly funded by the state government, saying this was another factor militating against its operation in the state.
“Business of managing waste is never an easy task. It is capital intensive especially at the initial stage and the rate of waste in the state is extremely high when compared to other bigger states hence the need for strategic intervention to meet up with the challenge”, she said.
