Lagos State Partners Cleaning Practitioners On Best Practices

The Lagos State Government through the Environmental Protection Agency, LASEPA has signed Memorandum of Understand (MoU) with the Cleaning Practitioners Association of Nigeria, CPAN to ensure the use of proper environmental and friendly chemicals for cleaning operations.

The move according to the State is to continue to protect the environment from every form of degradation, pollution as well as fight climate change and global warming.

The General Manager, Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency LASEPA, Dr. Dolapo Fasawe said that it becomes expedient to engage the professionals to involve in such activities that affect the environment and its ecosystem.

Fasawe explained that necessary arrangements have been put in place to ensure that all cleaning operators in the State pass through the agency to certify their authenticity as cleaning agents and this will be done through consistent training and capacity building.

“LASEPA has decided to accredit the Cleaning Practitioners and before you are accredited with us, we check your chemicals to be sure you are practising, and make sure you are not putting sniper in people’s homes and food in the process of trying to kill rodents. Before we accredit you, you go through training, show us certificate and its not just in one time accreditation, you are accredited every year.”

“The truth is at times, you are trying to do good and you are causing harm. Some of these chemicals that we used to clean are chemicals that caused global warming and climate change if not used properly or if not constituted in a scientifically agreeable way.We have had incidences where people have gone to fumigate home and after all, children fall ill and animals start to die.”

“Our law 2017, section 179 says nobody including this association is allowed to discharge any chemical into the environment (land, water and air) without it being properly treated and processed and it being declared safe for the environment.” she said

She stressed a nexus between the agency and the association which according to her could further enhance the scope of protecting the environment, thereby ensuring that the environment enjoyed sustainable status for the next generation to relish.

Collaboration

Speaking on the inclusive governance of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Fasawe affirmed that the THEMES+Agenda of the State Government is designed to bring critical stakeholders on board and allow them access to government.

Fasawe said: “We want to offer cleaning operators an avenue to have a direct access to government, that way, if you are a real cleaning operators, you should be celebrating this alliance because the quacks will be weeded away from the professionals, truly, the quacks cause more harm than good to the environment. From the signing of the MoU, the CPAN becomes an arm of LASEPA and we will work with CPAN to train, monitor and enforce.”

She however enjoined owners of Hotels, Restaurants and homes to engage registered cleaning practitioners and urged the public to read through the laws and align with the vision of Governor Sanwo-Olu to make Lagos a smart city, liveable and climate friendly city and make pollution from cleaning a thing of the past.

Safer Lagos

National President of CPAN, Mr. Tunde Ayeye appreciated the State Government for allowing the partnership to be activated.

Ayeye who described the event as transformational to the environment said that the association have been building the framework and working with LASEPA in the last four years.

According to him “This marks the beginning of a transition to a safer and cleaner Lagos State as we contribute our own quota to the health, environment and trade sector of the economy and we also set out to standardise and regulate the industry and we are indeed grateful for LASEPA to have embraced us.

“Working with LASEPA will allow it achieve part of the reasons for its set up, to not only protect the environment but to also ensure that it’s safe and this is where we come in with this collaboration to ensure where we serve and the environment in ensuring the use of the proper environmental and friendly chemicals across all our operations.”

He said that cleaning transcends food activities because of its impact on health, environment and economy, stressing that the COVID era has taught so many people on the imperative to take priority of their basic hygiene.