… lament high exchange rate
The Association of Waste Managers of Nigeria (AWAMN) has lamented the high exchange rate pervading in the country causing volatility in the cost of operations.
The waste managers stated that the industry was becoming more capital intensive, and highly sensitive to foreign exchange rates.
AWAMN President, Dr. David Oriyomi who spoke during the inauguration of the Oyo State Chapter, said that members were using naira to fund dollar-related costs, making it not a business for the faint-hearted.
He tasked members to take charge of its destiny in conformity with the ethics of the association.
Speaking in Ibadan, Oriyomi, said it was important that the association work in the best interest of the environment. “As an essential service provider, we must aggressively deliver our services in the same aggression with which we drive the collection of our revenues.”
He pledged support for the chapter, promising to avail them guidance, business support, local and international training, access to funding, national and international visibility through a recognised strong brand and strong affiliation to international reputable organisations.
The AWAMN President, called on the Oyo State government to give more attention to the waste and environmental sector in allocation of funds in their budgets.
He urged members to be mindful of the challenges before them as they were not in it alone, just as he asks them to show more than passing interest in government policies, especially those relating to the environment.
Oriyomi said they were pleased that in their pursuit of a national spread, they have the Oyo State Chapter as their latest addition, stating that they are currently in discussion with Kano, Imo, Cross River and Akwa Ibom States to mention as potential Chapters to further enlarge their State Chapters, comprising Lagos, Ogun, Ondo, and now Oyo State.
Responding, Chairman of the chapter, Mr Babatunde Mosuro, called on waste contractors in the state still skeptical of the motive and intension of AWAMN, to join and avail them their capacity, expertise, networks, ideas and resources.
The former President, Refuse Contractors Association (RCA) of Oyo State, Comrade Stephen Ogundipe, enjoined members to observe the day not just as a day of victory for the association, but a time of celebration of freedom, symbolising an end and a beginning, renewal and a change.
