Morolake Oluwatosin
The United Nations Habitat in conjunction with the Ekiti state government has expressed concern over the high rate of waste record, considering the growing in Sub- Saharan Africa.
The Habitat therefore called for the need on modality to curb the situation for conducive environment
The UN-Habitat, represented by Mercy Achieng Odhiambo, stated this on Thursday in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, at a one-day Waste Wise Cities Tool (WaCT) Training for Environmental Officers and other relevant stakeholders in the State.
The programme with the theme: ‘Capacity Building for Effective Municipal Solid Waste Management” organised by the State Ministry of Environment in conjunction with African Clean Cities Platform and Waste Wise Cities among other organizations.
According to the UN Habitat representative, the training will help the Environmental Officers in cities to assess waste generation, identify stakeholders in the recovery chain, and develop strategies for better waste management through data-driven decisions.
She said, “The poor people are more affected by waste, and the UN report shows that the waste outcome is growing.”
Also speaking at the event, the representative of UN Habitat, Mr. Akin Tobi, the Technical Support officer for the UN, Mr Akin Tobi, emphasized the need for quality data in managing waste in Ekiti State.
“We need quality data on the number of waste generated in Ado-Ekiti; the government is passionate about waste, and in collaboration with UN Habitat, Ekiti was registered into the African Clean Cities Platform.”
“In June, Ado-Ekiti was one of the three cities in Africa to receive assistance on the clean city initiative, to train environmental officers on how to measure the waste generated in the state. “It’s a do-it-yourself program,” he said.
The State Commissioner for Environment, Mrs. Tosin Aluko-Ajisafe, stated that managing waste is crucial for the state’s environment, noting that the training is connected to ensuring the state is habitable.
Also the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry ,Mr Babatunde Alokan, disclosed that the state has been seeking the actual rate of waste generated in the city to contract investors who can turn this waste into useful resources.
“We have a lot of waste but lack data to tackle this issue; the UN initiative comes at the right time, which is what we need to convince waste management investors to come to Ekiti. We know there is significant waste, but we don’t have data to convince investors or back our claims.”
Alokan stated that the government provided 20 Dinor bins, and in a few months, 20 more bins will be added.
According to the Director-General (DG) of the Ekiti State Waste Management Authority, Mr. Olasunkami Onipede, beyond data collection, the state aims to turn waste into useful resources.
“We are not just collecting data on waste but also converting waste into useful resources, which I call ‘waste to wealth.’ We have established a dumpsite to create employment for at least 1000 persons in Ekiti.” Onipede said.