The Managing Director of Mottainai Recycling company, Mr Adeniyi Adewuyi has debunked all the allegations leveled against him by some waste contractors in the state
Some Waste Contractors in Oyo state had in a save our soul (S.O.S) message to the Governor, Engr. Seyi Makinde alleged that the approach of Mottainai to waste management in the state is counterproductive and capable of truncating the huge investment and efforts of the present government in ensuring a clean and green Oyo state
They also alleged that the operations of the waste consultant, Mottainai Recycling company, engaged by the state government has continued to frustrate them from helping the government achieve the desired results.
Adewuyi in his response described the allegations as unsubstantiated, spurious, baseless, and unfounded stressing that it was clearly a case of corruption fighting back at every efforts made to sanitize the system.
Speaking on the allegation of impounding waste trucks that fail to deliver Adewuyi stressed that the company has the responsibility to cover for the shortfalls of waste contractors that could not meet up with its obligation adding that such impounding is to make enforcement effective while ensuring efficiency and not to witch-hunt or victimize anybody as alleged.
In his words, “our mandate as the waste consultant is to come up with policies and administer waste management process for the state. And being a private firm, we can not run on the basis of PPP that government has operated so, as a private company we had to come up with a franchise model and under this model we had to also come up with guidelines that will be followed and adhered to.
“It’s a two way approach; we could go ahead to pick up the wastes ourselves or alternatively engage the service of existing waste collectors, or look for new investors. Now being an existing waste collector, what qualifies you to be a waste contractor? It is your capacity to deliver, not just being a waste collector. It is only here in Ibadan that I’ve encountered someone who doesn’t have a truck and goes about borrowing or hiring trucks that would call him or herself a waste contractor.
“If you want to look at the genesis, when we came in, we were able to carry out an audit in order to protect the economy of the state. You can not just come in and start sacking people, you have to relate with them on the basis of their capacities. So, we called for audit and a lot of people, then we later realized that some of them went and hired trucks to lie their way in, and at the end of the day we realized that the wastes out there did not abate.
“So, our investigation revealed that some of them are now actually working with those trucks they brought in for recertification, so they lied their way in. And under the franchise model, you’re expected to have what we call a docket, that is an evidence of service provided. So when you go out there, for you to show that you’ve serviced a place, you give them a docket which is the number of drums, the days of pick ups, the house owners or customer signature. When you’re done, you’re expected to bring this docket to us to be analyzed.
“It is under that basis that we’re able to bill the customers, and under the franchise model, you’re working under a franchise, it’s not like you’re the owner of the customers, it is the franchisee that’s the owner of the contract, yours is just to go an pick the wastes and get paid your cut. So, I want to believe that’s what they referred to as they’re the ones working and they’re being payed certain rates.”
He said as part of the company’s measures to improve on the income of waste contractors, it took it upon itself to review tariffs of some industries to a more profitable rates which then gave birth to the sharing formula of 60/40 percent which has brought about a positive effect. The way it works is that, we cater for the environment under the zero wastes, zero budget initiative where government does not pay for anything anymore.
