By Praise Chinecherem
The Anambra State Waste Management Authority (ASWAMA) has inaugurated waste management committees in three local government areas of the state in a bid to rid roads and streets across the state of refuse.
The local government include Onitsha North, Onitsha South and Ogbaru of Anambra State.
Chairman, ASWAMA, board, Dr Emma Ezenwaji, who disclosed this at Onitsha South Local Government Headquarters, lamented the squalid condition of Onitsha and the fact that environmental health is at zero level in the State.
“We are here to inform you of the sanitation programme of the present administration. Our environment is stinking and needs to be cleaned. This is an important and urgent task to clean up Onitsha,” he said.
Ezenwaji called on the Transition Committee chairmen of the three local governments to work closely with environmental officers and the contractors to achieve the mandate of making their jurisdictions clean.
“We rely so much on the chairmen to educate and sensitize the people in the communities. We must take the monthly sanitation seriously henceforth, while defaulters should be made to face the law,” he added.
Managing Director, ASWAMA, Mr Mike Ozoemena said all hands must be on deck to rid the state of dirts, saying, “We must take this task seriously. We owe our environment a lot. Enforcement is critical. Discipline has taken a flight in our society.”
He tasked the TC chairmen and community leaders to regularly assess the contractors and report their findings to the board.
“People must buy in. Without it, this lofty goal will fail. September 30th remains deadline to remove bins from the streets and we can’t afford to fail,” he said.
Also speaking, representative of the civil society on the board, Prince Chris Azor, stressed the place of accountability for all involved in the execution of Mr Governor’s vision for the environment.
“Sanitation is a civic responsibility of the citizens. The way our environment is now is a misrepresentation of our nature and nurture. Take the message to the grassroots,” he said.
In their separate remarks, Transition Committee chairmen of Ogbaru, Onitsha South and North local government areas assured of readiness to hit the target.
The TC Chairman Onitsha North, Mr Onochie Ozoma added that sensitization had started, even as he emphasized the need to end impunity.
For their part, security agencies pledged their readiness to render any form of assistance which may be needed from them.
