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WAMCO and Malé City Council conflict results in garbage pile-up on the streets

Farah Ahmed
04 January 2023, MVT 16:05
Garbage bags left out on Malé streets: the conflict between the two institutes have resulted in waste piling up in the capital city. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI / MIHAARU
Farah Ahmed
04 January 2023, MVT 16:05

The quarrel between the Malé City Council and Waste Management Corporation (WAMCO) has escalated to the point where it is now negatively affecting the lives of Malé residents.

Usually, the residents of the capital city wake up to see the streets swept and the garbage from the previous day removed and disposed of. Recently, though, trash bags have begun to pile up on street corners, where stray cats inevitably forage and spill the contents onto the streets. The scene does not appear or feel clean.

"I have to hop over garbage bags on my way to work every morning now, and the whole neighbourhood reeks," a Malé resident said.

According to WAMCO, it is not in their mandate to clear garbage off the street; they maintain that they are only required to pick up trash from the doorsteps of individual households that pay them a regular fee for the service.

The corporation took this stance after Malé City Council refused to renew their contract after it expired at the end of last year, claiming that WAMCO fell short in fulfilling its duties in maintaining the cleanliness of the city, despite the hefty budget allocated to them. The city council retaliated and took it upon themselves to keep Malé clean. They even hired additional staff for the waste management operation and allocated public disposal and collection points in the city.

Garbage bags left out on Malé streets: the conflict between the two institutes have resulted in waste piling up in the capital city. PHOTO: NISHAN ALI / MIHAARU

As a result, Malé City Council, which is dominated by opposition members, has received a lot of criticism from the distraught public. Local residents that Mihaaru spoke to had positive things to say about how WAMCO previously ran their operations and did not see a reason for the change. They claim that this "unnecessary political move" is adversely affecting their everyday lives.

An official from the city council affirmed that they have been working tirelessly to keep the streets of Malé clean. "If we see garbage bags out on the roads, we try to dispose of them as quickly as possible," she said.

According to the official, just yesterday alone, the council cleared 33.5 tonnes of waste from the streets of the capital. They have cleared an additional 48.15 tonnes of waste between 12:00 A.M. and 6:00 A.M., she said.

To their credit, the council does seem to be making an effort. They created a list of 18 locations in Malé's public areas where garbage bags could be placed and urged residents to consider it their civic responsibility to keep the streets clean and refrain from disposing trash wherever they saw fit. They have already hired 100 new staff for waste management operations and have announced hiring 40 more.

Even though the Malé City Council claims to be disposing the trash, it never seems to completely vanish from the streets of the capital city. The Environment Ministry even warned the city council to remove trash from the streets as it posed a risk to public health.

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