The Lagos State Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Tokunbo Wahab, has called on PSP waste operators to digitise their operations for improved waste management.
Wahab, who met with the executive of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria at the weekend in the company of the Special Adviser to the Governor on Environment, Olakunle Rotimi-Akodu, said digitisation would enhance transparency in their operations, a statement said on Sunday.
He advised the association should put in place proper data collation and enumeration of all commercial and private facilities being serviced, stressing that the time had come for PSP operators to create an online portal where GPS receivers were installed in their trucks to provide accurate locations, including numbers of trips undertaken by each operator daily, amongst other things.
“This portal will be accessible via internet connection on a range of devices, from desktop computers to feature phones regardless of location, age, or socio-economic status,” he said.
The commissioner said the government was aware that the PSP operators needed some interventions, but said they must explain why the revenue being generated presently had dropped by 50 per cent within five years.
“Being aware that PSP operators are in business to make profit and sustain employment, then cash collection must be digitised for transparency. If, for example, you tell me that you have control of 45 per cent of this business, tell me what 100 per cent of the business is. These are some of the logical questions that demand answers.
“When you had a surplus, did you increase the stake of the government? As such, I reject the appeal to reduce the 25 per cent remit to LAWMA. I will not go that route except on two conditions: I want the enumeration of all the houses and digitise the number of household facilities across the state,” the commissioner said.
Wahab added that the continuous increase in population with the corresponding increase in the generation of waste had necessitated the need for a major change in PSP’s daily operations, noting that the present cost was not sustainable in light of the growth of the economy.
