ABUJA – The Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB) says it will hand over the responsibility of waste management of housing estates in FCT to their residents in November.
Alhaji Babashehu Lawan, the Acting Director of the board, made this known on Thursday while addressing representatives of estate developers and waste management contractors in Abuja.
Lawan said that the estate owners and residents would contract accredited waste management contractors for waste collection within their various estates.
He said the task of keeping Abuja clean was the collective responsibility of all stakeholders, adding that the new policy would ensure a turnaround in keeping residential environments cleaner.
He added that the new policy would require the remittance of 20 per cent of generated funds by contractors to the Revenue Account of the FCT administration.
“We are set to handover the cleaning of estates in the FCT to their owners and this will be achieved through the collaboration of estate owners and waste management contractors.
“The waste collection contractors will henceforth contribute 20 per cent of their revenue generation to the FCT Internally Generated Revenue account.
“These waste collection contractors must be fully licenced by the board,’’ he said.
The acting director said that the hitherto waste collection billing would be done by the board, as well as ensuring the enforcement by sending Environmental Health Officers to abet them.
“We are aware that some residents do not pick their waste evacuation bills.
“I can assure you that we will send our Environmental Health Officers after them and they will serve them with abetment notice as required by the AEPB Act.
“The responsibility of keeping environment clean is the responsibility of all, whether you are a civil servant or a private person, you have the responsibility to pay for your waste,’’ he said.
Mrs Stella Ganiyu, Representative of EFAB Properties, said that the policy of residents and owners taking over waste management responsibility would go a long way toward reducing pressure on the AEPB.
Ganiyu said the maintenance of waste collection vehicles was very expensive, calling for prompt payment of waste collection bills by residents.
She advised the board to make it mandatory for estate developers to include waste management facilities in their development plan.
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“If we allow waste within our environment, we will experience outbreak of diseases that may be worse than Ebola.
“The board must assist us in the area of enforcement to ensure that residents pay their waste collection bills.’’
She also appealed to the board to clear the outstanding funds they owe the waste management contractors.
According to her, contractors must be paid all outstanding funds owed by the board to be able to repair broken down waste collection trucks.
In his remarks, Mr Amos Odunfa, the Head of Department, Solid Waste Management of the board said that the new policy would ensure close monitoring of waste collection by the board.
Odunfa said that most FCT residents live in estates, adding that the board would henceforth concentrate on enforcement and monitoring of sanitation in the FCT. (NAN)
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