The Lagos State Government, in collaboration with the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, says plans are ongoing at employing 27,000 sanitation workers in renewed efforts at keeping a cleaner environment.
Addressing newsmen in Lagos yesterday at a three-day recruitment exercise held at Agege Stadium, coordinator of the Cleaner Lagos Initiative, Mr Ibrahim Fearon explained that a huge number of Lagosians have applied to be employed as community sanitation workers.
Fearon debunked fears that the initiative is out to compete with the Lagos State Waste Management Authority, LAWMA saying “those to be employed as sanitation workers will complement the efforts of LAWMA.”
He said: “we have 377 wards across Lagos, the screening exercise will be done at three locations and by the time the initiative would kick-off, we will inform those who scaled through via messages. We also intend to create awareness to the applicants that they can actually see it as a career. We want to put some dignity into it. The community sanitation workers do not only get tax free monthly pay, they are pensionable. They also get accident insurance and to avoid spending money on transportation, they will be posted to where they are resident.” Explaining that the Cleaner Lagos Initiative is about improving the whole of Lagos to make the environment clean, Fearon noted that those employed will also enjoy life insurance and health insurance.
Debunking fears of plans to phase out LAWMA, he said: “there are no plans to phase out LAWMA, all we are out to do is to compliment the efforts of LAWMA.”
An applicant, Mathematics graduate from Ekiti State University, Mary Emmanuel, commended the initiative noting that “with the initiative, it is expected that Lagos will be cleaner because it will bring effectiveness to cleaning.”
