City clarifies use of JKT to collect garbage

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The DCC head of solid waste management, Mr Shedrack Maximilian, said his office was coordinating environmental committees in streets, wards and districts to create awareness to the public.

Dar es Salaam. The Dar es Salaam City Council (DCC) has explained how it will use the National Service (JKT) to collect garbage and improve sanitation.

The DCC head of solid waste management, Mr Shedrack Maximilian, said his office was coordinating environmental committees in streets, wards and districts to create awareness to the public.

It has also been involved in improving infrastructure and staffing.

“Before JKT starts to collect garbage and charges and penalise those fail to do so, we want to make sure that residents are aware and the infrastructure is conducive for collecting solid waste,” he said.

Committees will conduct meetings with people to create awareness on how and where they should take garbage before it is collected and pay charges.

Again, the committees will also make sure that, dumping places, garbage collectors, transport facilities are available in particular areas.

“I understand that residents must be restless after hearing the order from our regional commissioner directing JKT to oversee sanitation management in the city, but I wish to assure them that there won’t be intimidation of threats of any sort,” he said.

He said the decision to use JKT was made after it became clear that people were not collecting garbage in their respective areas.

According to him, statistics indicate that of the 4,600 tonnes of garbage produced daily, only 50 per cent was collected.

This is despite Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Paul Makonda’s directive that Dar es Salaam residents clean their surroundings every Saturday.

In the new plan, however, the inspection of solid waste collection will be conducted randomly.

“We will not have a specific day of cleaning our surroundings and collecting waste,” Mr Maximilian said.

The city council also plans to establish transfer stations in every street where small vehicles will be able to reach. At the small dumping stations, garbage will be sorted into groups.

Some of them will be taken to recycling industries and the remaining will be sent to dumps.