Osun PSP Operators Demand Explanation From Aregbesola On Non-lasting Waste Disposal Trucks Sold To Them

Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun has been urged to break his long silence on the controversial waste disposal Trucks, purportedly imported from China, by his Administration in the interest of justice fair play and good administration.

A cross section of critical stakeholders who made the call in separate interview with our correspondent in Osogbo condemned the governor’s continued silence, describing it as an attempt to sweep the issue under the carpet despite the huge amount of tax payers fund and private investment involved in the project.

One of the stakeholders, Alhaji Lateef Adegoke complained that the trucks have become problematic to private waste collectors (which he belongs), stating that most of them have now abandoned the trucks for more rugged vehicles to dispose waste.

It would be recalled that sometime in the year 2013, Gov Aregbesola launched 61Trucks waste disposal vehicles with funfare in Osogbo.

Subsequently, the state Waste management Agency and the office of the Special Adviser on Environment jointly established “PSP” an acronym for private sector partnership on environmental sanitation with the state government under it’s economic empowerment programme.

Under PSP, private Waste collectors were made to register as PSP members and to pay between N1.1 and N1.3 million as cost of the truck and other administrative charges.

A waste collector, Mr Akin Oyelami explained that nearly three years after the payment for the trucks, himself and his colleagues were taken aback when Osun State Waste Management Agency (OWMA) came up with two documents, one which was an agreement form on the ownership Of the truck, under which each of the waste collectors is now compelled to pay additional five million Naira to the government or have their name or enterprise deregistered.

According to Oyelami, the other document contains the rules and regulations expected from PSP members retroactively from inception of the program in year 2013 without input from the collectors.

Waste collectors association, worried by the development, said that it’s members were not aware of paying extra charges on the trucks.

The association leadership said that they have laid the complaint before the governor, when they had the opportunity to meet with him.

The association also said that they were surprised that the trucks sold to them by the government had no spare parts to replace any spoilt parts and that there was no workshop to repair the trucks, adding that only four out of the 61 trucks are now functioning in the state.

“we are even surprised that the government is now broke to the extent that it has no money to maintain the dump site adding that our members even donate money for the operation of the dumpster.”