Vincent Ujumadu
22 October 2008
Awka — THE protracted waste management problem in Anambra State, especially in the commercial town of Onitsha has been attributed to lack of proper technique and fundamental plan on ground to addresses the problem.A lecturer in Environmental Management at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, Dr. Anthony Okoye said in a statement in Awka that the parastatal charged with the responsibility of evacuating waste was moribund, while most of the workers were not qualified for the job, coupled with the fact that the workers are not well paid which has led to a situation of gross truancy and loss of few skilled staff.
Okoye, who is a specialist on Environmental Impact Assessment with special interest on pollution monitoring and waste management, said that "government's incapability of enforcing discipline and encouraging loyalty by rewarding excellence and punishing mediocrity has not helped maters".
While commending Governor Peter Obi's administration for trying to receive the Anambra State Environmental Protection Agency (ANSEPA), Okoye blamed past governments in the state for not taking the issue of environment seriously.
"There is strong evidence that past governments did not take the issue of environmental management seriously. There was virtually no equipment on ground, while the few ones which have been procured by the present government were yet to be adequately utilized."
According to him, past governments in the state were not conscious of their environment, as dump sites were not properly located, neither did they provide network for prompt collection and disposal of wastes.
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