Business
‘Waste Management Can Create Direct Employment’
The Managing Director
of Initiates Plc, Mr Osai Reuben, has disclosed that waste management can create direct employment for the citizenry.
Reuben, an indigenous waste management expert and consultant who stated this in an exclusive interview with The Tide in Port Harcourt last Wednesday explained that roads infrastructure may not create direct employment but waste management on the contrary does.
While acknowledging the various developmental projects being carried out by the present government under Governor Nyesom Wike, the Initiatives boss how ever called on the government to allow experts and private investors to handle waste management.
“Government should allow private people to develop the waste management process because already, we are into e-waste management and plants are already built.
“Building roads, schools, hospitals and all others are good for government, but waste management infrastructure is supposed to be given to the private sector to develop. “Government has no business in wasting their money in building waste management infrastructure, but if they intend to do that let them go ahead, if they have the money”, he said
Reuben, a former president of the Environmental Waste Management Society of Nigeria, reasoned that there were so many competing sectors that were needing attention of government, hence the need to go into public, private partnership in the area of waste management.
He said developing roads in Rivers State is not only a daunting task but capital intensive due to the nature of the terrain.
The waste consultant advocated for a law to be put in place in order to allow experts manage the process.
He further disclosed that the e-waste plant at the Initiates Plc would create employment for over 100 people directly.
According to him, ouside the direct employment, it will also create more employment for up to 1000 people that will be engaged to sort waste and delivery to the facility.
The Tide reports that waste management structures include, in cinerators, land fill sites, processing plants and waste collection points amongst others and these are sources of employment.