SANDAKAN – Residents here have been unhappy with the rubbish collection job being carried out by the municipal council after the contractor left on April 30.
The rubbish collection contract ended on April 30 and the Sandakan Municipal Council took over the job using borrowed garbage trucks and rented lorries.
Residents complained that the lorries leave a trail of rubbish and stench as they move along the residential areas. Collection schedule is also spotty, they added.
“This is what happens when the council does not use proper garbage trucks to collect rubbish,” said Liberal Democratic Action (LDP) supreme council member Robert Chong.
He said complaints have been made to municipal council president Wong Foo Tin but met with silence.
Chong added Sandakan’s cleanliness is vital as the district is faced with a surge n Covid-19 cases.
“Sandakan district is also the third highest in dengue cases in Sabah this year, with 499 cases to date. We could not have rubbish piling in houses, or dirty streets, especially now,” he said.
Wong said with rubbish piling up in residential areas since the contract ended, the municipal council took over the job while waiting for the appointment of a new contractor.
On May 3, SMC had borrowed garbage trucks and rented three-tonne and six-tonne lorries, and 100 personnel without experience were tasked for the job.
By mid-May, SMC had 24 garbage trucks, 32 three-tonne lorries, nine six-tonne trucks and four units of roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) lorries, and an additional 31 experienced workers for the job.
To date, the municipal council is covering rubbish collection in 345 residential locations and 30 ro-ros in commercial centres here.
A source said the rubbish contractor company named Alam Motivasi had rejected the contract renewal after the terms changed to a month-to-month contract instead.
The source added the company, which owned 30 units of garbage trucks and 200 staff members, did not want to take the risk of contract termination months into the job as operational cost was high.
Wong said the month-to-month contract renewal is not new and Tawau Municipal Council has done the same for its contractor.
He added Tawau has been doing so for over a year with no issues.
Wong said the appointment of a contractor for rubbish collection falls under the jurisdiction of the state Ministry of Local Government and Housing. – The Vibes, October 21, 2020
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