RIWAMA Gives Non-Performing Service Providers 48-Hour Ultimatum.

The Rivers State Waste Management Agency, RIWAMA, has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to service providers, waste evacuators and street sweepers whose operational zones have been placed on red alert to improve their performance or face sanctions.

The directive was issued during an emergency meeting convened by the agency’s management with contractors whose areas were identified as falling below the expected sanitation standards.

Speaking on behalf of the Managing Director, the Director of Administration and Human Resources, Cosmos Chibueze, conveyed the management’s displeasure over the poor performance of some contractors.

Chibueze said the agency would not tolerate poor performance from any contractor, regardless of affiliation, and urged the affected service providers to immediately address the challenges affecting their operations.

He also tasked them with coming up with practical solutions to the problems they identified, stressing that excuses would not be accepted as a substitute for improved performance.

In their response, some of the service providers blamed their poor performance on the activities of cart pushers and informal waste workers, whom they accused of undermining their efforts to keep their operational areas clean.

The contractors also alleged that some residents and community members around waste receptacles collect stipends from cart pushers and invite them to dump refuse indiscriminately, including outside approved hours.

The agency said such practices contribute to the re-emergence of waste in areas that have already been cleaned and make it difficult for contractors to maintain acceptable sanitation standards.

RIWAMA said it would intensify engagements with community leaders in Obio-Akpor and Port Harcourt City Local Government Areas as part of efforts to address the activities of cart pushers and other factors contributing to indiscriminate waste disposal.

The agency reiterated its commitment to keeping Port Harcourt and its environs clean, while warning contractors whose performance remains below standard that they would face appropriate sanctions after the expiration of the 48-hour ultimatum.

Chibueze said the agency’s internal monitoring team had also been activated to follow up with service providers, street sweepers and waste evacuators across the affected zones.

“Our internal monitoring team has been activated to follow up with Service Providers, Sweeping and Waste Evacuators,” he said.

The agency urged all contractors to use the 48-hour window to address identified shortcomings and restore their operational zones to acceptable sanitation standards.