Tough Time Awaits Sanitation Defaulters in Plateau state.
It is not going to be business as usual to the violators of the monthly sanitation exercise in Plateau state.
This month’s exercise was strictly monitored by the Plateau State Environmental And Sanitation Agency (PEPSA).
The team was led by the PEPSA’s Director of Administration,Mrs Antonia Shalwul and other top Government functionaries various security outfits, Journalists, the team went round several parts of Jos and Bukuru Metropolis to monitor the exercise and ensure strict compliance.
In Jos North Local Government, areas visited so far showed substantial compliance with the exception of few defaulters, most fueling stations were not dispensing fuel, but black marketers were having a field day adjacent the popular NNPC Fueling station, Dogon Karfe sighting the monitoring team, the defaulters took to their heels with their fuels in gerricans and it took the efforts of security personnel to arrest some of them while some of their products were confiscated.
The team was also in Jos South local Government Area and the story was entirely different with the movement of the pedestrians as well as motories in Bukuru, Gero junction, Bukuru junction and the popular Kugiya Market where normal businesses activities were booming.
But the situation in Zawan Junction was totally different as the numerous vehicles were parked and some of them were fine as well as pedestrians,sugar cane,bread sellers were all fined .
Corroborating the lack of compliance in his locality,the Director of Personnel management of Jos South LGA, Mr. Silas Babuje said there is no compliance at all.
According to him, when responding to Journalists said, as you can see, motorists are moving up and down and even the pedestrians are just moving without observing the Sanitation and if you go to their houses now,you find it in uncleaned conditions,
He appeal to the citizens of Jos South and the state at large to fully participate in the Sanitation.
Further stated that, they need to sit up as a government and ensure that citizens understand the importance of the exercise, because it is very important
According to him, mosquitoes will not have where to breed malaria and other diseases like cholera will be reduced into bearest minimum.
The most unfortunate part of it is that,our people prefer moving up and down without observing the Sanitation and pursuing things that are not important to us as a state.
The way forward is adequate sensitization on media,they said cleanliness is next to Godliness, therefore,we should strive hard and ensure that our environments remain clean and and promote good health and healthy living.
In her own assessment of the exercise, the Director of Administration of PEPSA,Mrs Antonia Shalwul said the exercise was impressive compared to the previous one of last month.
She attributes the success to the earlier Sensitization embarked upon by the Agency ahead of the exercise.
The Sensitization took place on Thursday, according to her,it gives them good results.
The challenges we got in the field was about the pedestrians,they really gave us tough time because they were on most of the major roads trekking and we were able to fined majority of them.
By next month’s exercise,we will improved on the lapses we encountered today.
The D.A said measures have been put in place to sanitize Kugiya Market.
We were there at the market today,we saw it by ourselves,next Sanitation,we will concentrate there,a committee has been Constituted for the market and by the next Sanitation,we will test run it there and see the level of compliance .
On the issue of fine,she said they are looking on how to increase the fine because,some of the defaulters are taking it for granted,another area of the penalty will be that,we will be going with our implements and assign the defaulters to weed areas that are bushy.
She also reiterated the efforts of the Agency to keep Jos and it’s environs clean.
The Agency held a stakeholders meeting with the heads of security agencies and we told them to orientate their men whenever they’re in PEPSA,they should work in conformity and adhered to the guidelines because some of them do feel reluctant to comply.
The exercise which started from 7 Am and lasted till 10am.
The inability of some of the security men, particularly the police, their reluctant attitudes in arresting some of the defaulters,made some of them to escape and went scot free.
There’s urgent need for PEPSA and all the security organizations to renewed their robust relationship towards the subsequent exercises.
Mobile courts mounted by the PEPSA officials and magistrates tried the defaulters and they paid various amounts of money as fine.
