Lagos residents are encouraged to brace themselves up for tougher times as the Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) has proposed a 50 percent increase on waste evacuation from October 1, 2022.
This new development was disclosed by the LAWMA Director, Ibrahim Odumboni, during a news conference on Wednesday, August 10, 2022, in Lagos, where he said that poor attitude to waste management, heavy rains, and particularly the recent cost of diesel posed huge challenges to the cost of operation.
Mr Odumboni said the rising cost of operation, the cost of overheads, majorly diesel and spare parts for the trucks that waste managers used for evacuation of wastes, had warranted the increment.
He said that with these realities, a tariff review was under consideration and the upward price review of about 50 per cent would begin on October 1, 2022.The LAWMA boss said that from September 1, 2022, there would be an extensive and consultative review of the tariffs to meet the rising cost of operations.
He then reiterated that, although Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration planned to support the Private Sector Participants (PSP) in the waste disposal system in the state with fuel subsidy, the review of waste disposal tariff had become imperative.
According to him, the PSP operators and residents’ associations will be allowed to fix increase in tariff for domestic waste, which LAWMA has pegged at 50 per cent maximum.
In his remarks, the Chairman, of the Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN), Mr David Oriyomi, assured residents that with the support of the state government, efforts would be harmonised to address the prevailing challenges.
Oriyomi said that the prevailing challenges were those relating to the exchange rate and rising diesel price, which had informed the high cost of operation.
