The decision of the Lagos State House of Assembly to amend the state’s Environmental Law in order to give more powers to the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has been commended by stakeholders in the sector.
Last Thursday, the Assembly held a one-day Public Hearing on “A Law to Amend the Environmental Management and Protection Law 2017” organised by the House Committee on the Environment headed by Mr Dayo Saka-Fafunmi.
During the hearing, the stakeholders described such step as timely to ensure cleaner and healthier environment in the state following the failure of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative introduced by the present administration of Mr Akinwunmi Ambode.
Mr Olugbenga Adebola, an environmentalist said, “I will like to commend the proactive Lagos State House of Assembly members for this amendment.
“For a long part of 2016 and 2017 we have a big issue in environment family. It is good that more power be given to LAWMA as the regulator.
“I hope LAWMA, should be able to manage this. I commend the House.”
Mr Adebola urged the House not to jettison the private sector in the board constitution and looked into cost recovery level, and enforcement.
Mr Kadiri Shamusideen, a safety expert, who also commended the House for the amendment, called for efforts on the health and safety of PSP operators on the field.
Mr Shamusideen, Executive Director, Safety Advocacy and Empowerment Foundation, decried various unsafe practices of the operators on the highways, trucks and dump sites, which was corroborated by another expert Mr Adegbenro Adu.
Mr Olalekan Owojori, Consultant to PSP, who noted that waste management was service-oriented, called the House to look into how money for the services rendered by the operators would get to them.
Mr Owojori, who frowned at PSP depending on government bureaucracy before getting money for the service provided, called for a system that would allow the service providers to collect their .
Mr Adedotun Oriowo, a PSP operator, said, “I salute House for the impeccable sense of responsibility. We are here to right some wrongs of the outgoing Lagos State government.
“The Cleaner Lagos Initiative distorted waste management operations in Lagos State. It should be expunged from waste management in Lagos State.”
In his contribution, Mr Ola Oresanya, the Chief Executive Officer of LAWMA, said, “If the law is wrong everything will be wrong.
“I want to thank the Chairman of the committee for this painstaking effort to correct the wrong. The intention of this amendment is genuine and germane.”
According to Mr Oresanya, the authority will submit a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), especially on the functions of Public Utilities
Monitoring and Assurance Unit (PUMAU) bothering on waste management and revenue collection.
Mr Idowu Salau, a Consultant with the Federal Government on waste management, who commended the House, harped on cost recovery and identified user charge system and property charge system.
In his comment, Mr Ola Egbeyemi, President of the Association of Waste Managers (AWAN) thanked the House “for this noble gesture.”
“We have good laws but those laws are found ineffective because of enforcement. We should thank the lawmakers for revisiting this controversial law that have actually caused a lot of retrogression,” Mr Egbeyemi said.
In his welcome address, Chairman of the Committee, Mr Saka-Fafunmi said that extant law passed in 2017 could not meet expectations as discovered during impact assessment analysis.
“We cannot have a law that is not serving the interest of Lagos and that is why we propose several amendments. The amendment essentially bothers more on LAWMA law.
“As at when the law was made, we were looking at having a concessionaire-an operator that will take over the waste management of Lagos.
“No sooner had the law was passed we realised that it was not something that could stand the test of time here. We have decided to revert back to our ways of doing it.
“That is why we are empowering the PSP and every other stakeholder in environment. We must empower LAWMA and take away concessionaire,” he said.
Over viewing, Majority Leader of the House, Mr Sanai Agunbiade, stated that the proposed amendment affected only 48 sections of the 526-section extant law.
Mr Agunbiade said that the House had a penchant to monitor laws passed and conducts impact assessment and whenever a shortcoming was noticed,an amendment would be sought to make it conform to realities.
Earlier in his keynote address, the Speaker of the House, Mr Mudashirun Obasa, represented by his deputy, Mr Waaiu Eshinlokun-Sanni, explained that the House intention was to improve the environment and make waste management seamless.
Adedapo Adesanya