Commercial Vehicle Operators Flout KEPA’s Directive

The directive by the Kaduna State Environment Protection Authority (KEPA) for operators of commercial vehicles to place waste baskets in their vehicles has suffered a set.

Our correspondent recalled that the authority recently directed operators of commercial vehicles to place waste baskets in their buses.

The directive, according to the authority, is aimed at keeping the streets clean and curtailing indiscriminate disposal of refuse by passengers.

However, the state NURTW Chairman, Alhaji Babaginda Lawal, told our correspondent that his members could not keep to the directive due to unavailability of the type of basket recommended by the government.

“The directive is timely and we are ready to comply with it.

“It will help to control indiscriminate dumping of waste, poses a threat to the environment”, he said.

Lawal said that his members had made efforts to procure the waste baskets but could not find them.

“We are ready to comply with the directive, we were told not to buy any basket but that which is procured by KEPA.

“Our members visit the premises of the autority regularly to buy the baskets but they are not available”, he said.

The General Manager, KEPA, Alhaji San Aminu, said that government had commissioned a consultant to oversee the implementation of the programme.

He, however, said that the enforcement of the directive would commence only when the baskets were available.

Our correspondent reports that not less than 30,000 commercial vehicles operate in Kaduna metropolis and other big towns in the state.