A SUMMARY PRESENTATION OF THE BAFUT COUNCIL WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN
As defined by Law No 96/12 of 5th August 1996, Waste shall be any residue from a production, processing or utilization process; any substance or material produced or, more generally, any movable and immovable good abandoned or intended to be abandoned.
The Bafut municipality which was in the past almost void of garbage, and could be classed as one of the cleanest cities in the North West Region has in recent years been plagued with the situation of poor waste management. With urbanization and rapid growth in population, compounded by increasing urban functions, the volume of waste generated a day in the municipality and most especially in the urban area is enormous. Major road junctions /streets of the municipality are characterized by uncontrolled garbage disposal. Streets are littered with waste that is haphazardly scattered and surroundings of public places are generally dirty and smelly.
Bafut urban is a hub of many functions including commercial, garages, carpentry, educational, health, residential etc. Waste is generated from these activities ranging from plastic wrappings/bottles, iron, food waste etc, which are either biodegradable or non-biodegradable.
Due to the lack of a waste management plan by the council, the population consciously/unconsciously dump waste carelessly in the environment. The only form of waste management by households is backyard dumping. The uncontrolled disposal of waste has led to some adverse effects like contamination of water bodies, the breeding of harmful insects and rodents, pollution of the atmosphere and the outbreak of diseases. Such was the case of Lower Bafut which was plagued by cholera less than a decade ago. Malaria and typhoid cases are constantly being registered in most of the health institutions found in the municipality.
In view of the ongoing, there is need to put in place a proper waste management plan to check the damages caused by poor waste management in the municipality. Backed by the devolution of power on Environment and Management of Natural Resources in section 157 of the General Code of Regional and local authorities, with emphasis on the cleaning of streets, roads and council public areas; the Bafut council needs to put up measures to maintain a clean environment for the good of her population. A council WMP is key to resolving this disturbing situation of poor waste treatment in the municipality.
A Municipal WMP is a written record (Document) of what must be done to achieve the goals the council has set for managing municipal waste. The purpose of this plan is to describe the management procedures of the waste generated within a Municipality. The Bafut council has developed it to ensure waste is reduced, reused, recycled and managed in a rational and sustainable manner wherever possible.
Major highlights in this document include; the general introduction which is an understanding of the concept of a WMP and the problem of waste management in the municipality. The legal and institutional framework presents the laws on waste management, what gives the council the mandate to manage municipal waste. A view of the Bafut municipality, carving out the zones greatly affected that needs attention is equally projected. This is followed by the categorisation of waste, problems associated with waste generated and an analysis of the environmental and social risks associated with poor waste disposal. The technics involved in managing waste in the landfill marks the main solution to the issue at hand. The entire process cannot be accomplished without the involvement of stakeholders who are equally mentioned in the plan. The bill of quantities which has the description of items and their costing concludes the major segments of the document.
We therefore present for adoption by the deliberative organ, the Bafut Council Waste Management Plan.
Mayor Ngwakongoh Lawrance has been awarded as the best dynamic Mayor to Canada during a conference on the Learning Mission on Tourism and Local Development that opened its doors in Lac Megantic.
