To improve waste management in Nigeria’s commercial centre, the Lagos state government is set to launch new legislation to curb the menace of waste in the state and support businesses in the circular economy.
Omobolaji Gaji, permanent secretary of the Ministry of Environment & Water Resources, made this known at a stakeholder’s engagement meeting organised in partnership with the Pro-Poor Growth and Promotion of Employment (SEDIN) programme of the German Development Agency (GIZ) in Lagos recently.
According to him, the new waste management policy which is set to be unveiled soon was developed by the Ministry of Water Resources in collaboration with stakeholders in the waste industry to regulate waste and ensure a sustainable working environment.
Gaji noted that curbing the menace of waste has been identified as the most difficult challenge facing the state and its environment currently.
“With increased urbanization and population growth, the state government is concerned about the generation of plastic waste that is associated with environmental pollution such as blockage of drainage which leads to flooding,” he said.
He added that the recent incident of flooding made the state government take decisive measures toward regulating plastic waste management.
According to Gaji, the state government takes pride in the inclusive government, this is why the policy is unveiled in the public and private engagement with stakeholders which was facilitated by GIZ to reach all stakeholders that were not reached when the policy was endorsed by Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
Speaking also, Akinropo Omoware, head of policy & strategy unit, GIZ-SEDIN, said the plastic waste industry is a key sector that can help to create jobs.
Read also: Coca-Cola explains ‘World Without Waste’ initiative
He noted that GIZ-SEDIN is working with various partners to move the industry forward by supporting micro, small and medium enterprise businesses in the sector to scale and generate more jobs.
“This is part of SEDIN’s to give everybody the idea of what the Lagos state government intends to do in the industries and how to move the industry forward.”
The most important for SEDIN is that the state government cannot make policy alone, government relies on the private to make and implement the policy that will address the issues, he said.
Michael Bankole, deputy director of climate change and environmental planning at the Ministry of Environment said the ministry has taken the policy all through the rudiment of guidelines and is here to present it to stakeholders so, that all can work from the same note book and at the end achieve sustainable and clean environment.
“Addressing the plastic waste challenge has become a source of concern to Lagos in her quest to achieve a clean and healthy environment for its citizenry.”
“Therefore, effective plastic waste management is fundamental in the delivery of the state government’s priority transformational agenda as laid down in Lagos State Development Plan 2015 – 2025.”
He further explained that the need for this policy is premised on the desire of the state government to create a clean, healthy and safe environment, protect public health and foster economic prosperity for the citizenry by exploiting the benefits of a circular economy in plastic management.
Femi Idowu Adegoke, president of the Lagos Recycler Association, said that the presentation of the policy caters to the private sector and SMEs which are major players in the private sector value chain.
Adegoke urged the state government to engage more stakeholders like the manufacturer association and off-takers within the recycling phase.
“They need to be involved to know the consequence of having recycling as their packaging products that need to be more entrenched in the policy,” he advised.
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Cyberwatch 2023 debuts to drive business sustainability
Josephine Okojie
Towards ensuring business continuity and sustainability garnered from the ability to block business waste, Cubed Integrated Management has announced Cyberwatch 2023, a series set up to prepare organisations for profitability through cybersecurity acumen.
Adeoye Abodunrin, managing director of Cubed Management said the series intends to push organisations towards sustainability with the launch of Cyberwatch 2023, a thought leadership business series to prepare them for profitability through effective management of cybersecurity threats.
To achieve this, its inaugural series will address the impact of cyber-attacks and privacy breaches on business bottom lines and provide hindsight into the emergent role of women in Cybersecurity with the attendant opportunity missed by the limited number of women in the field.
Abodunrin, while speaking at a press conference, said the series came about from innovations in the technology space. ”As 2023 beckons, organisations must prepare for profitability by blocking business waste and adapting to change in the ecosystem”, he asserted.
Towards this end, he explained that seasoned strategic business and academic leaders; Bolaji Okusaga, the managing consultant, Precise Platforms, a foremost perception designer, and Tooska Dargahi, a senior lecturer & associate professor in Cyber Security from the Department of Computing & Mathematics, Manchester Metropolitan University will lead the virtual conference set for December 1 and 2, 2022.
Okusaga, on day one, will examine the impact of Cyber Attacks and Privacy Breaches on Business bottom lines with a focus on ”The Effect of Cyber Attacks, Cyber & Privacy Breaches on Brands’ Business Profitability”
He will talk about the nature of Cyber Attacks and their implications on brands, business sustainability & profitability, implications on the consumer journey and brand lifecycle; and should a business pay ransom or not, pros & cons.
Other topical areas he would dissect are, ”When should a business Executive pay or not pay?; What can be done once a brand /business has been attacked and is in recovery?; and Trends in Cyber-attacks and brands that we will see in 2023 and beyond”.
Dargahi will, on day two, dwell on Women in The Future of Cybersecurity, with a focus on the trends and Evolution of Women in Cyber – need(s), want or necessity?
Interested participants can register online https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZcod-iorTwoEtdSWKFTvNfKo-4wEXCB0nF5.
Abodunrin recently named the online coach of the year at the 2022 GAGE Award said Dargahi aims to cover areas like; Emerging Trends in Cyber Careers; Emerging Trends with Women Inclusion & careers in Cybersecurity; The Global Need for Cyber Security Professionals with a particular Focus on Africa (the women); and The Unique Need for Women in the CyberUniverse Globally.
Other topic areas are ”The Unique need for Cyber Professional Women in the African continent; Strategies to drive Female Inclusion, Diversity & Equity beyond Quota Systems; and Industry Penetration Tools, Techniques, Ideas and Strategies for Women in Cyberworld.
Okusaga, in his comment about the series, said he is happy to undertake the conference as more businesses will get a clearer direction on how to navigate digital risks for their profitability.
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