The Managing Director of Refuse Management and Sanitation Board (REMASAB), Dr. Mohamad Khalil, said that Kano State government has approved salary increase for its workers and enrolled more than 3,000 street sweepers.
Khalil, who stated this in Kano, at a one-day capacity-building workshop for Private Sector Participants (PSPs) and waste management practitioners, said that their children were also registered into a free health insurance scheme.
He said that REMASAB and private waste operators have agreed to partner to ensure stronger enforcement of waste management regulations to enhance service delivery in Kano State.
He added that the state government had also intensified efforts through training, improved regulations and stricter enforcement of payment for waste services.
He said that government had reviewed franchise agreements with registered waste collection companies and would soon allocate franchise areas to operators to ensure efficient evacuation and disposal of waste.
“Waste management is not solely the responsibility of government, private companies also play key roles across designated zones,”he said.
Khalil identified non-payment for services as a major challenge confronting PSPs, stressing that the reviewed agreement makes room for strict enforcement.
He said the state had provided litter bins at strategic locations, including State Road, Race Course and Airport Road, but lamented low public compliance.
“Waste management is a collective responsibility. Ignorance is not an excuse. We are intensifying sensitisation through mass media, social media and direct engagement,”he said.
In his remarks, Chairman of Indigenous Waste Management Association in Kano, Dr. Bala Muhammad Tukur, urged the government to implement stricter enforcement to ensure residents pay for waste collection services.
He said that poor compliance had affected the operations of private companies, noting that in some communities with about 100 households, only 15 to 20 pay for the services rendered.
According to him, the charges remain affordable, with operators billing N5,000 to service a 200-litre dustbin four times monthly, depending on waste volume.
Tukur commended the introduction of mobile courts by the state government, saying operators were hopeful that defaulters would now be compelled to comply.
“With mobile courts in place, it will no longer be business as usual,”he said.
