ABIDJAN, March 27, 2009 —World Bank and Ivorian government officials on March 12 launched the Solid Waste Management component of the World Bank's Emergency Urban Infrastructure Project in Côte d' Ivoire.
Called “Clean City Operation”, the three-month initiative will help dispose of 500,000 tons of solid waste in the 13 communes of the District of Abidjan, the nation’s economic capital. The total cost of the project is US$12 million.
President of the Republic, Laurent Gbagbo, presided over the launch ceremony, held in the commune of Adjamé in Abidjan, and praised the Bank for its financial support. He congratulated World Bank Country Director for Côte d’Ivoire Madani M. Tall, for his commitment to helping the country tackle the ever insolvable issue of solid waste in Abidjan.
President Gbagbo said Ivorians should be grateful to the Bank because the project is funding not only solid waste, but also other important sectors, such as sanitation, water supply and roads rehabilitation.
“It is unacceptable that the city of Abidjan, once called “The Pearl of Lagoon” be as dirty as it is today,” President Gbagbo said.
The main objective of the project is to increase the collection, removal and disposal of household solid waste in the city of Abidjan in order to help improve public health and the living and environmental conditions for the city dwellers.
Household waste collection and disposal in the city of Abidjan were handled by a private company called SITAF until 1990. After two years of poor service delivered by the City of Abidjan, solid waste management was entrusted to the ASH company in 1992. Following the ASH’s failure to honor its commitments, the central Government and local governments requested private operators to perform the service. The collection rate, which had been 75 percent in 1989, fell to 65 percent by 2000. The collection rate finally settled at 46 percent in 2006. The sector is characterized by a lack of a sustainable financing strategy, a fragmented institutional framework, and inefficient solid waste pre-collection, collection, transfer, transport, and disposal systems that lead to huge sanitary and environmental risks.
Strong commitment needed to address the issue
President Gbagbo urged stakeholders to continue to support waste management efforts even after the World Bank project ends.
“What will happen after the three months?” he asked. “[S]olid waste management requires a lot of effort, civism and commitment on the part of all of us.”
Gbagbo said arrangements have already been made at the government level to tackle the issue in a sustainable way.
The Solid Waste Management initiative is part of a larger Emergency Urban Infrastructure Project. Through a grant of US$94 million, the Project aims to support Cote d’Ivoire’s current recovery process through emergency delivery of basic services and infrastructure to the urban population. The grant will help finance urban water supply, urban sanitation, solid waste management, urban roads rehabilitation, and municipal contracts.
“It is fundamental that Abidjan, the economic capital of the country be clean, not only for health reasons, but also for economic reasons,” Tall told participants at the launch. Participants included government officials, mayors and representatives of the public and private sector.
“It is only a clean environment,” he said, “that can attract investors and tourists.”
Tall also said the World Bank is eager to provide stronger support to Cote d’Ivoire’s government in its post-conflict reconstruction efforts.
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