Tales about PSP

I have never ceased to wonder why the Lagos State government stopped cart pushers from doing door-to-door picking of dirt. “What do you mean?” I can hear you say. Well, I have my reasons and by the time I table my argument before you, you might just find yourself agreeing with me.

It was a great relief when Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) announced that cart pushers would no longer pick up waste. There is a more organised system put in place to do so through Private Sector Participation (PSP). But I need to tell you, dear readers, that PSP’s ineffective services have left a bitter taste in the mouth.

PSP’s poor services have given most Lagosians the impression that LAWMA is simply another government parastatal known for inefficiency, even though it has never ceased to accuse cart pushers – whom, by the way, it sees as competitors and threat to the ‘clean Lagos’ campaign – of illegal garbage disposal. Yet PSP is at the height of inefficiency as the operators don’t come to pick up the garbage as and when due. At least at Ajao Estate where I live, their visit is highly irregular. The pick-up day used to be Wednesday, but suddenly they changed to Thursday without any formal notice. In addition to that, for nearly three weeks, they disappeared from the radar. During that period, we had no choice but to patronise cart pushers (who picked up the dirt promptly) as we had our garbage piling up.

Informal as cart pushers may be, their services are more cost-effective and they are more efficient than PSP. After collecting wastes, they sort and recover re-usable and recyclable materials from the waste before disposing the residue. And they are preferred now to PSP because people can no longer tolerate the highhandedness of PSP operators.

In addition, PSP workers have been encouraging people not to pay their waste bills, and the PSP is performing below standard. They just collect N200 or N100 from people and carry the waste instead of the standard N1,000 or N1,500 fee. There seems to be no accountability; and perhaps there is no demand for it.

I am aware of the danger patronising cart pushers poses to the general well-being of the state. Blocked drains, heaps of garbage on the streets, remnants of food, water sachets littering gutters and corners of the road, and used household items have become common sights in Lagos in the past few years. This has earned Lagos the label of the dirtiest city in Africa. Dumping of refuse in drainages has been blamed on shops and stall owners who most times throw dirt into gutters after sweeping or cleaning up their shops.

But these bad habits can only be curbed if PSP is more efficient. A friend who lives in Festac once complained to me bitterly how inefficient PSP has been in her area. She pays her bill promptly, yet PSP operators seldom pick up her garbage. “Forcing people to pay for a service not rendered is daylight robbery. They always bring bills to my house. I pay and also make photocopy and paste on my gate to indicate that I don’t owe; yet at the end of the day, they will still bring bills without reflecting the last payment. For some time now, they have not been regular; so we make do with the cart pushers who are readily available,” she said.

I know of someone who finds it hard to dispose her poultry wastes because LAWMA has not been regular. She pays N3,000 weekly to clear wastes alone – a service she has never really enjoyed.

A resident of Ijesha once said that PSP operators would come to the area to clear refuse. After some time, they would disappear into thin air for a month or so before they resurface again. They bring bills without any formal engagement and when you call their customer care, you do not get any experienced person to take calls and give you reasonable feedback.

By: FUNKE OSAE-BROWN