Clearing the refuse heaps in Abuja

The rate of fi lth in the Federal Capital Territory is alarming, hence an urgent need to clear the mess before an epidemic breaks out. HELEN OJI reports

The issue of illegal dumping of waste in unauthorized places by some unscrupulous cleaning contractors was roundly condemned by the Abuja Environmental Pr o t e c t i o n ( A E P B ) Board which warned that although it was prepared to go the extra mile to ensure that none of the contractors was unfairly punished, it would not hesitate in dealing squarely with any contractors whose vehicles are caught engaged in such unwholesome act.

It was revealed that there are new strategies in place to determine those involved in illegal dumping and therefore advised to promptly report cases of broken down vehicles so as to justify the absence of any of their vehicles from the daily tipping at the Gousa dumpsite and that is why the Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), held a meeting with its 27 cleaning contractors with a view to harmonizing strategies that would better keep the city free from filth and AEPB said it is determined to ensure greater and sustained improvement in the performance of the city cleaners in line with the FCT minister’s burning objective of bequeathing to Abuja residents a clean city that would be comparable with other most clean cities of the world. Effi ciency

Th e Director of Abuja Environmental Protection Board (AEPB), Mrs. Omolola Olanipekun urged the contractors to render efficient and timely service always and admonished a few who have performed below expectation to gird their loins or lose out in the next dispensation. She frowned at the crude manner some contractors carry out their job with no concern for city beautification or environmental safety.

Olanipekun fur ther cautioned the contractors, that henceforth they must discharge their services in such an efficient and professional manner that would be a source of joy to the FCT administration and residents too, adding that the trimming of fl owers for instance, should be done in whatever style they chose to employ in the pruning; whether triangular, ball or square, it must be done in a way that would be appealing to the senses. Constant Cleaning Th e Head of Public and Environmental Safety unit of the Board, Mr. Ben Enwerem emphasized the importance of constant cleanliness of the refuse disposal trucks. Apart from some of them being quite filthy and therefore dangerous to health, many of the trucks leave very terrible stench behind in their wake and this also pose great health hazards.

Th is therefore places great obligation on AEPB to ensure that all vehicles used in waste disposal were not only kept clean but are also constantly disinfected, they were told and “the cleaning contractors were informed about the readiness of a Wash Bay for washing of their waste disposal trucks, they were also told that the Bay would be open between 6.00am and 6.00pm daily and were duly invited to start making steady use of the facility for a sum to be agreed amongst them.

“Th erefore to achieve the purpose for which the Wash Bay had been established, it was announced that a weekly manifest of vehicles using the facility would be kept to enable fair compilation of the list of defaulting companies for appropriate sanctions and contractors were reminded to acquaint them of this requirement for constant cleanliness in the contract agreement,” he stressed.

According to the Board, the overriding purpose of providing the wash bay was not only to keep waste vehicles clean through constant washing, but smelling good as well through deodorization and free of harmful bacteria through disinfection. Indiscriminate Dumping The officer in charge of City Cleaning unit, TPL Kaka Bello revealed that the Board had in partnership with JICA made some improvements at the dumpsite to ease the diffi culties faced by drivers at the especially during the rainy season when the grounds are slippery and many drivers find it challenging to drive up to the tipping point leading to indiscriminate dumping on the middle of the road and other unauthorized places.

He explained that, “slabs have been put in place and that truck movement into the tipping points has become much smoother. He directed the contractors to instruct their drivers to come for training on the use of the slabs to ensure there were no accidents in the course of tipping.

Th ey were also enjoined to instruct their drivers to remain patient when they come to the site and to stay on queue and not break the line as this leads to avoidable accidents through reckless driving. In the haste to dump their waste and be done with it some wild drivers even dump their waste smack in the middle of the road thereby creating a problem of access for other vehicles and also leading to damage to the road when the bulldozer comes around to scrape the waste off the road. Improvement Th e contractors pledged to honour all their contractual obligations and promised to check excesses of their drivers as well as improve in the areas they have been found wanting. Th ey appealed for speedy payment of their fees and the Acting Director assured them of the FCT Administration’s keen-ness to ensure prompt payment of their fees and called on them to reciprocate the Administration’s good intention by scaling up their performance.

 

 

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