The Acting Principal Secretary of Environment in the Ministry of Defence, National Security Service and Environment, Mrs. Mabataung Khalane says the world is facing a global crisis concerning poor waste management and it requires an urgent and joint response involving all relevant stakeholders.
She said this when officially opening the national training on ‘Stop open burning of waste’ at the event held in Maseru on Thursday.
Mrs. Khalane expressed gratitude to the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) for collaborating with the Ministry of Defence, National Security Service and Environment in implementing the Project on “Promotion of Best Available Technologies or Best Environmental Practices (BAT/BEP) to reduce unintentionally produced Persistent Organic Pollutants (uPOPs) released from waste open burning in participating African Countries of SADC.
She noted that the project aims to achieve continued minimisation of uPOPs released from open burning of waste in participating African countries of the SADC region through the introduction of BAT/BEP measures at selected priority demonstration sites.
“In this process, we shall embark on awareness-raising activities and capacity-building initiatives. We held the first national training workshop in September 2019 and today’s training workshop is aimed at building upon the first workshop. Both workshops would have not been possible if it was not for the technical support from UNITAR and the financial support from UNIDO,” she said.
She said the poor management of waste has damaged scenic beauty, leading to a negative impact on the country’s tourism and economy, saying they recognize that this project cannot overcome or provide solutions to all waste management challenges as some will need collaborative efforts and continued support for the success of the program.
Mrs. Khalane, therefore, urged everyone to refrain from open burning of waste as literature has shown that burning waste especially plastic waste results in the release of toxic gases which can negatively affect the immune system, nervous system, reproductive functions and second types of cancers.
Also Speaking, the Maputsoe Urban Council Assistant Physical Planner, Mr. Tšolo Khoanyane said they have started the Closed Burning of Waste Project in Maputsoe and they faced some serious challenges where community members do not comply.
He said Ha Mathata Community does not pay for their waste collection claiming that the project is unlawful and seeking the gazette for the program.
He mentioned that public gatherings were held to sanitize the villagers about the program.
On the same token, the Maseru City Council Senior Health Inspector, Mr. Thabo Mothebe said they held workshops for the general public and gatherings to educate them on the danger of Open Burning of Waste.
He stressed that the main challenges are non-payment of waste collection, non-compliance with the schedules and inadequate resources.
He said they are looking forward to strengthening awareness initiatives, increasing the frequency of cleaning campaigns and do door to door campaigns.
Maseru and Maputsoe were selected as pilot studies and the project is expected to last two years. If the project becomes a success it will be launched in other districts.
By Staff Reporter: Maphoka Likotsi
