Ambode signs new environmental bill into law

Akinwunmi Ambode, Lagos state governor, on Wednesday, signed an environmental bill into law.

The bill will overhaul the state’s environmental, waste management and handling practices and also harmonise all existing environmental laws.

The bill will also drive the adoption of innovative technology to tackle existing environmental problems in the state.

The new law gives Lagos State Waste Management Agency (LAWMA) the authority to review and regulate all waste management activities within the state while Kick Against Indiscipline (KAI) will be rebranded and transformed into the Environmental Sanitation Corps Agency.

LASECORPS will oversee the enforcement of stringent penalties to be imposed on defaulters.

According to the governor, LASECORPS’s performance evaluations and remuneration will be tied directly to the number of actionable fines they issue for non-compliance.

“I am delighted that our bill has been signed into law. Under this initiative we have (referring to the public and private sector) worked collectively to make laws that will result in historic environmental victories,” Ambode said on Wednesday at the signing ceremony.

“Our major environmental laws are outdated and do not address our present-day challenges.

“We exist in a world where the protection and preservation of public health and the environment have evolved and are primarily driven by data. We cannot compete if our laws are based on obsolete information.

“I know that the process of change may seem daunting at first but ultimately this shows that we can achieve a lot on our own and we can join with others for the common good of Lagos State.

“We have taken everyone along the value chain into consideration from the existing PSPs, to the cart pushers and the scavengers on the landfills. Everyone will be accommodated under this new environmental scheme,” he said.

Ambode added that the new initiative would “create 27,500 new jobs and deploy over 500 vehicles during the concession period. We are bringing in the expertise of world renowned environmental groups to construct multiple engineered landfills and transform our water and wastewater treatment sectors”.