Calabar — Head of Service in Cross River State, Mrs Mary-Theresa Ikwen, has charged the state Ministry of Environment to adopt strategies that would assist it turn waste collected by its agencies into wealth.
She said at an interactive session with the management staff of the ministry in Calabar that the forthcoming Calabar carnival festival has the potential of generating massive waste in the metropolis hence the need for the ministry to come out with ways of turning the waste into wealth.
Ikwen commended the ministry for the aesthetic and face-lift of the state capital, Calabar, and some urban towns in the state and urged it to sustain the feat as the state was already noted as the cleanest in the federation; a development she noted is due to the effort of the street cleaners.
Permanent Secretary in the ministry Elder Edward Gekpe expressed delight for the interactive session which he noted was a welcome development.
He said that the desire of the ministry to ensure that environmental practice was in tandem with world class standard is on course despite challenges the ministry is facing. The permanent secretary stated that approval for implementation of waste management was given in 2009, adding that as a way of saving cost on government, waste evacuation in the state would in February 2013 be handled exclusively by private enterprise. Elder Gekpe assured that necessary steps have been put in place to ensure a hitch-free refuse evacuation during and after the Calabar carnival festival.
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