Waste Management 40 (2015) 14–21
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Privatization of solid waste collection services: Lessons from Gaborone Benjamin Bolaane ⇑, Emmanuel Isaac Department of Architecture and Planning, University of Botswana, P/Bag 0061 Gaborone, Botswana
a r t i c l e
i n f o
Article history: Received 22 November 2014 Accepted 1 March 2015 Available online 26 March 2015 Keywords: Privatization Gaborone Solid waste collection Efficiency Effectiveness
a b s t r a c t Formal privatization of solid waste collection activities has often been flagged as a suitable intervention for some of the challenges of solid waste management experienced by developing countries. Proponents of outsourcing collection to the private sector argue that in contrast to the public sector, it is more effective and efficient in delivering services. This essay is a comparative case study of efficiency and effectiveness attributes between the public and the formal private sector, in relation to the collection of commercial waste in Gaborone. The paper is based on analysis of secondary data and key informant interviews. It was found that while, the private sector performed comparatively well in most of the chosen indicators of efficiency and effectiveness, the public sector also had areas where it had a competitive advantage. For instance, the private sector used the collection crew more efficiently, while the public sector was found to have a more reliable workforce. The study recommends that, while formal private sector participation in waste collection has some positive effects in terms of quality of service rendered, in most developing countries, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on information about services contracted out and evaluation of performance criteria within the contracting process. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction Solid waste management absorbs a large proportion of the municipal budgets while collection and disposal remain inadequate (UNCHS, 1994; GARNET, 2000). In response to these challenges some municipalities often privatize waste collection services. Privatization of waste collection takes many forms including outsourcing of waste collection services to formal private companies (Coad, 2005; Fahmi, 2005; Kassim and Ali, 2006). Proponents of privatization argue that in contrast to the public sector, private sector improves efficiency and lowers costs by introducing commercial principles (see Coad, 2005; Kassim and Ali, 2006). However, Dorvil (2007) identifies some of the constraints in privatizing waste management services as lack of sufficient information about services contracted and inadequate regulatory framework that often results in inefficiency. Similarly, Anderson (2011) argues that rather than creating greater cost control, privatization of waste management services considerably diminishes the ability of governments to control costs as privatization leads to monopolistic markets and contractors dictate prices. Furthermore, Oduro-Kwarteng and van Dijk (2008) found that not all private ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +267 71241183. E-mail addresses:
[email protected] (B. Bolaane),
[email protected] (E. Isaac). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.wasman.2015.03.004 0956-053X/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
companies operate efficiently in waste collection, but rather those with less than 15 vehicles performed better in terms of vehicle productivity and utilization. Oduro-Kwarteng and van Dijk (2013) further found that the major challenges of local authorities that contracted out waste collection services were weaknesses in implementation of formal contracts, ineffective monitoring of performance of contractors, inability to define the scope of contracts and setting of performance targets. Likewise, Ahmed and Ali (2006) found that privatization alone may not necessary provide a solution to waste management challenges of developing countries and advocates for a tripartite arrangement that involves public sector, private sector and the people. It therefore appears that there is a disparity of views with regard to the benefits of privatization of waste management services. Despite this incongruence of views, local authorities and commercial waste generators in Botswana have been continually outsourcing waste collection activities to formal private companies. This essay evaluates and compares commercial waste collection services between the public and private sector in Gaborone with respect to efficiency and effectiveness. In the context of the study, efficiency refers to the use of resources and management of processes to optimize outcomes, while effectiveness indicates the level of performance on the desired outcomes (see Mandl et al., 2008; Crawford and Bryce, 2003). Indicators for measuring efficiency and effectiveness are presented in the methodology section.
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1.1. Background to the study Waste management services in Gaborone have traditionally been characterized by unreliable collection and inadequate disposal emanating from limited resources at the disposal of waste management authorities (Kgathi and Bolaane, 2001; Bolaane, 2004). By and large, this motivated the concerned authorities to consider possible engagement of the private sector. The first outsourcing project involved Gaborone City Council sub-contracting waste collection services to Daisy Loo (PTY) LTD, a company that has been involved in collection of waste and provision of portable toilets on a hire basis, as a pilot project on a 3 year contract (Watungwa and Ngome, 1998). In addition to waste collection, the pilot project had a public awareness component. The evaluation of the project indicated that 72% of commercial waste generators rated the collection service as satisfactory compared to 67.8% of households. Furthermore, 38.3% of commercial waste generators indicated that the service had improved in contrast to 52.7% of households (Watungwa and Ngome, 1998). Despite the relatively high rating of the level of service, the pilot project was discontinued at the end of contract period, with some authorities at Gaborone City Council attributing the discontinuation of private waste collection to political interference in that the contractor was associated with the ruling party, while the political leadership of the City Council were from an opposition party (Bolaane, 2004). In early 2000, Gaborone City Council initiated a process of privatizing household and commercial waste collection activities in five service areas of Old Naledi, Bontleng, White City, Gaborone West Phase 1 and Tsholofelo (see Fig. 1). The primary consideration in evaluating the tenders was cost and ability to source the required collection equipment. Following tender evaluation, the service contracts were awarded to Serekwa (PTY) LTD, Cleaning Wizards (PTY) LTD, Base Agencies (PTY) LTD, Frenic (PTY) LTD and Daisy Loo (PTY) LTD respectively. The actual collection service commenced in December 2003. The time lag of three
15
years included time for drawing terms of reference, preparation of bid documents, tender advertising, tender evaluation, adjudication and award and mobilization of resources by successful bidders. Furthermore, the local council is not financial autonomous and had to wait for financial disbursements from the central government. However, the contract for service provision for Tsholofelo area was terminated after two years following a dispute over payment and the scope of work. There were allegations of corruption in the award of the contract, which were later disproved in a court. The service contracts for each of the other four service providers were extended by a period of one year on expiry since the council was not ready to take the collection as a result of insufficient waste collection fleet, personnel and finances. However, the contract extensions were not subjected to re-tendering, but contractors had to provide a lump sum price for a daily collection trip to the Gamodubu Regional Landfill, 35 km from the city. The average quoted price was P7000.00 (USD734.00) per trip. The prices were based on number of trips because of the paucity of information on quantities to be collected and limited experience by council and contractors in using that measure. The quoted price was deemed too high by the City Council and in excess of the council’s waste collection budget. As result, the collection contracts were brought to an end after the one year extension period and because of budgetary constraints to support privatization costs, the collection services reverted back to the City Council. A number of issues could be discerned from the privatization initiative. First, the three year time lapse between initiating the privatization process and its actual implementation could indicate lack of experience by the council in executing such ventures. Secondly, the council had difficulty in defining the scope, which led to a dispute between council and one service provider. Third, the service contract did not have set criterion for evaluating performance, leading to an extension of contracts for the four service providers without any assessment of efficiency and effectiveness of outsourcing of waste collection services. Lastly, the extended contracts proved unaffordable to the council, further indicating that the scope and budget for service were ill defined at the time of the extension. It is possible that the contractors took advantage of the non-competitive extension of contracts to collude and hike prices. Post the privatization efforts, the challenge of waste collection in the city persisted and was widely reported in the media under headlines such as: ‘‘Gaborone City Council fails to collect garbage’’ Mmegi (2010); ‘‘Gaborone suffocates under garbage’’ Botswana Daily News (2013). The central message in the newspaper articles was that poor waste collection was reaching crisis levels due to inadequate capacity by the local authority to effectively provide the service. As a result, most waste generators were resorting to dumping waste in alleyways and open spaces. In June 2012, the Mayor of Gaborone announced another waste collection privatization initiative. At the time the council was reported to be having a rubbish collection backlog dating back to December 2011 (Mmegi, 2012). However, the envisaged privatization efforts were deferred, and have still not been implemented by February 2013, primarily because the received tender prices were beyond the council’s waste collection budget (Botswana Daily News, 2013). Despite the setback, the City Council was still committed to privatization. The commitment persisted despite past privatization efforts having not been objectively evaluated.
2. Methodology
Fig. 1. Map of Gaborone showing contracted areas.
The study is based on both documentary and field research. It compares the efficiency and effectiveness of the public and private sector in the collection of commercial waste in selected areas of
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Gaborone. Efficiency was measured through average waste collection crew size and age of workers, level of absenteeism of waste collection crew, turnaround time for vehicle repair and collection performance. Effectiveness was measured through: quality of service provided, quantity of waste collected by available collection capacity, unit cost of waste collection and level of managerial skills (Cointreau-Levine, 1994; Coad, 2005). In assessing performance, five collection vehicles that were in-service during the time of the study were selected from each sector. The performance of the 10 vehicles was evaluated over a continuous period of three months. The documentary search mainly focused on analyzing waste collection and disposal records for both the public and private sector collectors. The information is kept by both the City Council and private collectors included landfill weigh bridge records per vehicle, number of vehicles, number of days they are in service, collection crew number and records on absenteeism. Field research involved interviews with key informants in both the public and private sector using a checklist containing the key variables of investigation. The main key informants were Chief Public Health Officer and Senior Environmental Health Officer with the Gaborone City Council and five representatives of private sector waste collectors. A time and motion study was also carried out for a day over three collection rounds with one vehicle from each of the private and public sector collectors to establish quantity of waste collected at each stop, time taken per loading, crew size and approximate vehicle filling rate.
3. Results and discussion 3.1. Motivation for privatization of waste collection As earlier indicated, the Gaborone City Council was primarily motivated to privatize waste collection services by limited resources at its disposal. In particular, the Chief Environmental Officer identified human resources and waste collection vehicles as lacking. As of May 2013, the Gaborone City Council waste collection fleet consisted of 24 compactor trucks and two skip loaders, with an average age of eight years. However, in a given week, an average of seven vehicles was operational due to persistent mechanical problems and long turnaround time for repairs. This often led to limited vehicles to do the required collection rounds. Furthermore, the council had lost about 200 of its waste collection crew to various causes. It was however unable to fill the available vacancies as a result of a moratorium on new employment imposed by the central government. As a result, the collection vehicles operated with a collection crew of three persons per vehicle in contrast to their desired practice of six people per vehicle. However, the time and motion study established that in fact the crew size was still six per vehicle in the area that it covered. While proponents of privatization support it on the basis of the private sector being efficient and effective (Cointreau-Levine and Coad, 2000; Lusthaus et al., 2002), the primary motive for outsourcing by the GCC appears to be the limited resources at their disposal. Inherent in this motive, is the general believe that the private sector is more resourced or in a position to use its resources more effectively. In thinking so, the council does not appear to have self-introspected on their understanding of the regulatory framework governing outsourcing of waste collection and the scope of the waste collection contracts. By and large, outsourcing had tended to create monopolies in assigned areas of collection. This was reflected by that at one point almost all contractors quoted P7000.00 (USD734.00) per trip for waste collection regardless of distance and quantity of waste collected. Anderson (2011) argues that the creation of monopolies, often as a result of the
dwindling of competition as contractors find political favor, lead to the hiking of tender prices. This has led to the popular belief that private sector contractors are overpricing their services, by taking advantage of inadequate resources and waste collection experienced by the council. This assertion may be correct because, in the case of Gaborone, the outsourcing authority also lacks clarity as to the scope of work concerned, with the contract only specifying collection of waste on designated areas and days of the week and contractor specifying number of trips for the service on tendering. On the whole, this may be forming the basis for intermittent outsourcing of waste collection by GCC. 3.2. Extent of formal private sector participation in waste collection Private waste collectors have been operating in the City of Gaborone for a period spanning over 20 years. At the time, they were predominately engaged in the collection of commercial and light industrial waste. They mainly solicited collection contracts from commercial waste generators through their own initiatives, without the assistance of the council, the statutory body responsible for waste management. The contracts were often not written, were intended for collecting waste from commercial premises. Post the enactment of the Waste Management Act of 1998, all waste carriers had to register with the Department of Waste Management and Pollution Control as per Section 12 of the provisions of the Act. In terms of the Act, waste carriers are transporters of waste for recycling and disposal. At the time of the study, there were 40 registered solid waste carriers in Gaborone. An examination of the landfill records for commercial and household waste revealed that a total of 5339 tons and 5197 tons of solid waste were disposed of at the Gamodubu Landfill for the months of February and March 2013 respectively. Out of the total waste disposed of, 51% and 45% were collected by the private sector during the period under consideration. The result shows that even though there was no formal contracting out of waste collection services, the private sector played a major role in waste collection. Similar results were reported in Ghana, where the private sector collected 60% of the waste contributed to improved collection service (Oduro-Kwarteng and van Dijk, 2013). In the case of Gaborone, increased collection of commercial waste by the private sector was mainly motivated by commercial waste generators perceiving the service provided by the council to be of poor quality. 3.3. A comparison of efficiency between the private and public sector collectors 3.3.1. Average crew size and age of workers The optimum crew size for waste collection depends on labor and equipment costs, collection methods, route characteristics, size and type of collection vehicle, space between houses and waste generation and collection frequency (Hosetti, 2006; Ramachandra, 2006). While it is necessary to undertake a detailed time-and-motion study to select the optimal crew size, it has been established that there is a strong tendency for personnel productivity to increase as crew size decreases (UN-HABITAT, 1988; Robinson, 1986). In the case of Gaborone, both the private and public sector used similar sizes of compactor trucks with loading volumes, ranging between 12 and 21 m3, but with varying crew sizes. Public sector compactor trucks had a driver and six crew members, while those of the private sector had a driver and two crew members. However, the time-and-motion study established that on average, with six crew members, the public sector collected 5.76 tons/day, while the private sector with two crew members collected 10.02 tons/day. Thereby, the collection rate by the public sector was 0.96 tons/day/man, while that of the public sector was
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5.01 tons/day/man, which meant that the private sector was five times more efficient than the public sector. Other research shows that, the extent to which employees do their job well and their age have been found to be unrelated, but for younger employees, the relationship has been found to be positive, even though it is not strong (McEvoy and Cascio, 1989). In a study conducted in Bogota, Cointreau-Levine (1994) found that the average age of public sector waste collectors was about 40 years, while that of the private sector was 35 years. The younger employees were found to be stronger, more productive and adapted easily to changes in management requirements. Cointreau-Levine (1994) also reported that the average age for the private sector employees was about 25 years, while that of the public sector was 45 years. In this study, the average age of the public sector workers was about 40 years, while that of the private sector workforce was about 30 years. The younger workforce in the private sector were more educated and considered their work as temporary. In contrast to the experience in Bogota, they were considered to be unreliable and less motivated to work. Similar to the experience in Lagos as reported by Ogwueleka (2009), the older employees in public sector were found to be reliable, while absenteeism was found to be higher among the younger workforce. In literature, because of the older and more reliable workforce the public sector could be considered more efficient than the private sector by recruiting employees who are committed to their work. This is also made possible by that employees of the public sector are employed on a permanent and pensionable basis, enabling them to acquire experience and provide loyal service to the employer. 3.3.2. Level of absenteeism Absenteeism has been found to have a negative impact on productivity and thereby undermining service delivery (Halpern, 2001; Tsai et al., 2005; CSIR, 2011). In that respect, a waste collector experiencing high levels of absenteeism of the workforce would probably realize diminished productivity levels. Absenteeism data was collected for a consecutive period of three months, January to March 2012, for both the private and public sector collectors. For purposes of decentralizing the waste collection service, GCC divided the city into three depots of Gaborone North (A), Gaborone West (B) and Gaborone South (C), each with designated staff, collection vehicles and collection crew. The distribution of waste collection crew between the three depots was 32, 62 and 32 for depot A, B and C respectively. Table 1 presents cumulative levels of absenteeism over a consecutive period of three months for the council’s waste collection crew. While absenteeism varies between depots, on average, the council lost 21 man-days over a cumulative period of three months or seven days per month. The average level of absenteeism for the public sector was estimated at 2.9% over the three month period. The level of absenteeism for waste collection crew for the five private sector collectors is presented in Table 2. While absenteeism varies between the different private sector collectors, on average, they lost about three man-days to absenteeism over a cumulative
period of three months. The average level of absenteeism for the private sector is estimated at 1.4%, which is lower than that of the public sector. But in order for them to maintain their set collection levels, they relied on casual labor to replace absent collection crew. It is not immediately apparent as to what contributes to different levels of absenteeism between the private and public sector waste collection crew. However, it was established that there is varying status of employment between the private and public sector crew. While the public sector crews are employed as permanent and pensionable, hence more job security, the private sector crews are employment on contracts of a period tied to the waste collection contract. This brings about a varying level of job security compared to that enjoyed by employees of the public sector, hence compelling them to turn to up to work more frequently than their public sector counterparts with a more secure job tenure. Overall, on the basis of the level of absenteeism, the private sector appears to be operating more efficiently. 3.3.3. Vehicles purchasing and vehicle repair turnaround time Access to better designed vehicles that are appropriate to the local conditions could improve the efficiency of waste collection by increasing collection performance (EPA, 1999). In this study it was found that both the private sector and the public sector have access to better designed vehicles such as compactor trucks of 12–21 m3 capacity and skip loaders that carry skips of 6 m3 capacity. At the time of the study, the public sector had 24 compactor trucks and two skip carriers, while the five private sector collectors had a cumulative total of 16 compactor trucks and 12 skip carriers. The process for purchasing the vehicles is more elaborate and longer with the public sector and not suited to responding to urgent and immediate needs. It entails, budgeting for the required equipment and waiting for approval of the budget and disbursement of funds from the central government. Once the budget has been approved and funds made available, it is followed by a lengthy tendering process. The whole process may take up to two years. This often makes it difficult for the public sector to replace old vehicles easily and the majority of their vehicles persistently suffered mechanical failures that undermined effective waste collection. For instance in 2013, the average age of the 26 council fleet was eight years. In contrast, the average age of the private sector fleet was 4 years. Furthermore, the private sector fleet was purchased by funds sourced from commercial banks, with procurement process ranging between four and six months. The turnaround time for repair of vehicles is dependent upon the availability of spare parts. Cointreau-Levine (1994) established that repairs of waste collection vehicles within the public sector is bogged down by bureaucratic procedures for sourcing spare parts, while in the private sector, the purchasing process is less restrictive. In similar nuances as those expressed by Cointreau-Levine (1994), the mechanical engineer at Gaborone South Depot revealed that the repair of equipment was delayed by bureaucratic procedures that often increase the turnaround time for vehicle repairs, particularly in cases where repairs have to be outsourced. On one
Table 1 Level of absenteeism for the public sector waste collection crew (2012). Collection depot
A B C Average
Total crew
32 62 32
Level of absenteeism (%)a
Cumulative absenteeism (man-days) January
February
March
January
February
March
0 21 33 21
22 27 33
0 5 49
0 1.7 5.2 2.9
3.4 2.2 5.2
0 0.4 7.7
Note: Total working days is the full days of the month (e.g. January 31 days). a Level of absenteeism (%) = cumulative absenteeism (man-days)/expected work man-daysb 100%. b Expected work (man-days) = 20 work days/month total crew.
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Table 2 Level of absenteeism for the private sector waste collection crew (2012). Contractor
Total crew
1 2 3 4 5 Average
9 11 8 50 3
Level of absenteeism (%)a
Cumulative absenteeism (man-days) January
February
March
January
February
March
3 2 3 4 0 1.9
2 0 1 0 1
0 4 2 2 4
1.7 0.9 1.9 0.4 0 1.4
1.1 0 0.6 0 1.7
0 1.8 1.3 0.2 6.7
Note: Total working days is the full days of the month (e.g. January 31 days). a Level of absenteeism (%) = cumulative absenteeism (man-days)/expected work man-daysb 100%. b Expected work (man-days) = 20 work days/month total crew.
hand, the turnaround time for in-house vehicle repairs for the public sector collectors was estimated to be 24–48 h. However, for repairs that have to be outsourced or where spares have to be sourced from outside the country, the repair period could take up to three weeks due to delays in procurement processes. On the other hand, four out of five representatives of private sector collectors who were interviewed during the study, reported a turnaround time for repairs of 24–48 h for in-house repairs where spare parts were readily available and five working days in the case where spares have to be sourced outside the country. Overall, the private sector appears to be more efficient in sourcing spare parts from outside suppliers as a result of a simple and less bureaucratic process.
2010). It could be further deduced from Table 3 that on average, public sector vehicles serve 42.8% of the possible service days, while in the private sector a relatively large proportion of possible service days of 67.7% was recorded. The difference in the proportion of days available for collection vehicles to perform their activities could be attributed to varying age of vehicles, frequency of breakdown and the maintenance regime they are subjected to. Furthermore, private sector was more motivated to have their vehicles in good service condition in order to fulfill their performance contractual obligations and enhance the possibility of being contracted for a longer period. Information on effective utilization of available vehicle capacity as a measure of performance is presented in Table 4. It can be observed from Table 4 that the number of waste loads collected by the private sector over a three months period was lower than that collected by the public sector. Furthermore, with the available collection capacity of 63 m3, the public sector was able to collect1705 tons of waste in 3 months, while the private sector collected 1656 tons of waste in 3 months with 76 m3 available capacity. Comparatively, the public sector could be considered more efficient in utilizing their collection capacity because they collected more waste per unit of available vehicle capacity. Moreover, field data indicated that the private sector had fairly lower vehicle filling rates compared to the public sector. This could possibly indicate that the private sector had limited capacity in vehicle routing
3.3.4. Collection vehicle performance Table 3 shows the number of days in a month over the three month period (January to March) that vehicles selected for performance analysis in this study were available for waste collection. Over a continuous period of three months, it was rare for any vehicle across the two service providers of the public and private sector to render service for the whole month without some form of mechanical failure. This could be attributed to the general terrain in which this vehicles work, that is characterized by narrow streets and large sections of dusty roads that may not be compatible with the hydraulic systems of compactor vehicles (see Coffey and Coad,
Table 3 Number of days worked per month for selected collection vehicles. Service provider
Collection equipmenta
January (31 days)
% Days in service in the month
February (28 days)
% Days in service in the month
March (31 days)
% Days in service in the month
Man compactor Nissan compactor 1 Nissan compactor 2 Nissan compactor 3 Toyota skip carrier Average % of days in service
24 27
77 87
23 22
82 78
22 27
70 87
4
12
20
71
8
25
27
87
1
3
3
9
13
41
0
0
0
0
Private Sector
14
45
19
67
8
25
25
80
25
89
22
70
29
93
23
82
21
67
23
74
23
82
24
77
12
38
17
60
21
67
Public Sector
Toyota compactor 1 Toyota compactor 2 Nissan compactor 1 Nissan compactor 2 Toyota skip carrier Average % of days in service a
Number of days in service per month and % of days in service
42.8%
Registration numbers of vehicles and owners of vehicles in the private sector were omitted for ethical considerations.
67.7%
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B. Bolaane, E. Isaac / Waste Management 40 (2015) 14–21 Table 4 Estimated quantity of waste collected by available collection capacity. Service provider
Collection vehicle
Total waste collected over 3 months (tons) A
Loading volume (m3) B
Cumulative loads in 3 months (No.) C
Cumulative volume used in 3 months (m3) C B = D
Available capacity/total waste collected (tons/m3) A/D
Public sector
MAN compactor Nissan compactor 1 Nissan compactor 2 Nissan compactor 3 Toyota skip carrier
655.40
12
100
1200
0.54
602.06
19
142
2698
0.22
235.58
12
51
612
0.38
189.56
20
44
880
0.22
22.16
6
13
78
0.28
1704.76
63
350
5468
255.22
19
65
1235
0.21
244.02
20
75
1500
0.16
684.50
12
73
876
0.78
305.38
19
75
1425
0.21
166.50
6
83
498
0.33
1655.62
76
371
5534
Total Private sector
Total
Toyota compactor 1 Toyota compactor 2 Nissan compactor 1 Nissan compactor 2 Toyota skip carrier
optimization, or the areas they were assigned under the service contract generated insufficient waste to fill the available capacity. 3.4. A comparison of efficiency between the private and public sector collectors 3.4.1. Unit cost of waste collection The unit cost (cost per ton) can be used in evaluating whether to perform an activity in-house or outsource it. It can also help in the comparison of bids from outside contractors to perform waste management activities (EPA, 1997). Information on unit cost was not readily available in a disaggregated form the public sector that clearly spelt out all costs associated with operation and maintenance such as fuel costs, vehicle repair costs and other related costs for specific tasks related to collection. The only available cost was the unit cost of disposal of P40/ton (USD4.22/ton). In contrast, the private sector was unable to provide such information despite promises of confidentiality. In the absence of data on costs associated with collection equipment, this study was not able to compare the efficiency of waste collection between the public and private sector in relation to cost. Furthermore, the absence of such information meant that waste generators and/or local authorities made decisions to outsource collection services on the basis of limited information and may not have a clear yard stick for evaluating bids for service provision by competing private sector collectors. In such a scenario, it is possible that in the case of local authorities, they might have contracted out activities that would have cost them less if carried out in-house. The paucity of sufficient information of waste generated and associated costs could also undermine planning of other facets of the waste management process. 3.4.2. Quality of service provided Quality of service is a comparison of expectation and actual performance in service delivery. The continued sourcing of services
from one particular supplier would be determined by whether beneficiaries of the service are satisfied with the manner it is rendered. The quality of service rendered will impact the willingness of waste generators to pay for it. Traditionally, both household and commercial wastes in Gaborone were collected by Gaborone City Council. Bolaane (2004) found that continuous breakdown of vehicles and excessive delays in carrying out repairs compromised the ability of the local authority to efficiently and effectively collect commercial waste. While the collection frequency for commercial waste set by the local authority was daily, it was not uncommon at times to see skips in commercial areas overflowing with waste for over a week (Bolaane, 2004). The concern over poor collection service that often resulted in the accumulation of waste led to some commercial generators engaging private sector waste collectors. This study interviewed 14 representatives of commercial waste generators in Gaborone that were conveniently selected. The main issues covered by the interviews were, designated waste collector and reasons for designation, frequency of collection, level of satisfaction with service provider. Out of the 14 commercial enterprises, 12 were serviced by private sector collectors, while the local authority provided collection for the remaining two. The respondents revealed that the main motivation for engaging private sector collectors was because the council had stopped collecting waste from their premises. However, it appears that it was never the intention of the council to provide the collection service, but mainly a result of the limited resource at their disposal that resulted in failure to adhere to service schedule. Among those where collection was provided by the private sector, collection frequency varied from daily and once to thrice a week, with five receiving daily collection, while four of them received collection once and twice a week respectively. Out of the 14 commercial waste generators, six rated the service they received as ‘very good’ and five as ‘good’. Despite rating the quality of service mainly as good and very good, some waste generators were of the view that
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the frequency of collection should be improved while others suggested the cleaning of skips post collection to improve service quality. These suggestions were surprising because the different commercial enterprises had service contracts with private sector waste collectors and such requirements should have been built into such contracts. Similarly,, this could indicate that while commercial enterprises are contracting out waste collection services, they may be lacking the requisite skills to set clear performance targets and properly define the scope of services they were contracting out.
short courses in waste management. While the courses are specific to their vocation and enabled them to carry hands-on operations, they did not equip them with the necessary breadth of competencies to enable them to engage in both strategic and operational demands of their portfolios. In that regard, the assertion that waste managers in the private sector have superior qualifications than those in the public sector is not supported by the evidence in the case of Gaborone. Such results could account for mixed outcomes in relation to efficiency and effectiveness of waste collection services between the public and private sector.
3.4.3. Managerial qualifications Planning and allocation of resources, particularly at managerial level, requires capacity to have a broad understanding of waste management issues. In recognition of these, there is a plethora of courses offered by institutions around the globe toward achieving sustainable waste management. A list of qualifications for waste management staff in both the private and public sector is presented in Table 5. In the public sector, each of the three waste collection depots in Gaborone was manned by an Environmental Health Officer with a Bachelors’ degree in Environmental Science, responsible for overall coordination of waste collection services. In addition, all the three depots had an Administration Officer with a Diploma in Administration, mainly responsible for collating information relating to waste collection, maintaining waste collection crew attendance register and processing their payments. The qualifications of council staff put them in a position to comprehend all aspects of the waste management process. In contrast, all operation managers of the five private companies surveyed only had
4. Conclusion
Table 5 Qualification of key waste management personnel. Service provider
Depot/contractor
Public
Sector
Key personnel designations
No.
Depot A
1 Admin Officer 1
Depot B
Depot C
Admin
Environmental Health Officer
1
Admin Officer
1
Environmental Health Officer
2
Officer
Private
Sector 1
Contractor 2 Contractor 3 Contractor 4 Contractor 5
Contractor 1 Short-term courses in waste management Operation supervisor Operation supervisor Operation supervisor Operation supervisor
1
Qualifications Environmental Health Officer Bachelors Degree in Environmental Sciences Diploma in Administration and Certificate in Health Services Bachelors Degree in Environmental Sciences Diploma in Administration and Certificate in Health Services Bachelors Degree in Environmental Sciences Diploma in Administration and Certificate in Health Services Operation supervisor
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Short-term courses in waste management Short-term courses in waste management Short-term courses in waste management Short-term courses in waste management
Clearly, the formal private sector plays a major role in the provision of waste collection services mainly driven by its business motive. In the case of the City of Gaborone, the private sector collected more than 50% of all waste generated in the city. More specifically, the service rendered by the private sector was applauded by commercial generators who had switched to private sector collection because of the perceived poor quality of service rendered by the public sector. Despite the benefits of private sector collection such as improved quality of service as reported by commercial waste generators, historically, private sector participation increased the cost burden of collection on local authorities. The increased cost burden often led to intermittent privatization of waste collection services. The cost burden appears to emanate from inadequately defined scope of work and performance targets, with contracts often based on daily service rates as opposed to unit costs. The inadequate definition of scope of work and performance targets was not only unique to the local authority. Commercial waste generators that were served mainly by the private sector collectors also appeared to enter into casual waste collection agreements without clear performance criteria. While the pivotal role played by the private sector in waste management, particularly in collection, cannot be overemphasized, it is apparent that privatization efforts should be supported by a robust waste information system. Adequate waste information on municipal waste generation rates and densities could assist in planning waste management processes and defining the scope and performance criteria for waste collection contracts. Furthermore, there appear to be a paucity of knowledge and skills in contracting out waste collection services, particularly among local authorities. In order to augment the effectiveness of privatizing waste collection services, it has to be enhanced by building sufficient capacity within the public sector on the nature of information required for contracting out services and the criteria for performance evaluation within the contracting process through training of municipal officials. However, in cases where the required skills could not be developed through training of existing staff, capacity building through recruiting qualified staff is advisable. References Ahmed, S.A., Ali, S.M., 2006. People as partners: facilitating people’s participation in public–private partnerships for solid waste management. Habitat Int. 30, 781– 796. Anderson, B., 2011. Privatization: a Formula for Provision or Perversion of Municipal Solid Waste Management? Clear Impression Documentation Services. Bolaane, B., 2004. Constraints to Organized Recycling in Developing Countries: A Case Study of Gaborone, Botswana, PhD Thesis, Loughborough University, Loughborough. Botswana Daily News, 2013. Gaborone Suffocates under Garbage. (accessed 08.09.13). Coad, A., 2005. Private sector involvement in solid waste management – avoiding problems and building on success. Collaborative Working Group on Solid Waste Management in Low Income Countries (CWG) Publication Series No 2, Switzerland.
B. Bolaane, E. Isaac / Waste Management 40 (2015) 14–21 Coffey, M., Coad, A., 2010. Collection of Municipal Solid Waste in Developing Countries. UN-HABITAT, Nairobi. Cointreau-Levine, S., Coad, A., 2000. Guidance Pack: Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Management (accessed 28.08.13). Cointreau-Levine, S., 1994. Private Sector Participation in Municipal Solid Waste Services in Developing Countries, vol. 1. The Formal Sector, The World Bank, Washington, DC. Crawford, P., Bryce, P., 2003. Project monitoring and evaluation: a method for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of aid project implementation. Int. J. Project Manage. 21 (2003), 363–373. CSIR, 2011. Municipal waste management – good practices. CSIR, Pretoria, first ed.. Dorvil, L., 2007. Private Sector Participation in Integrated Sustainable Solid Waste Management in Low- and Middle Income Countries, Doctor Oeconomiae, Dissertation Nr. 3381, Graduate School of Business Administration, Economics, Law and Social Sciences (HSG), University of St. Gallen, Schmitt-Druck, Essen. EPA, 1997. In: Full Cost Accounting for Municipal Waste Solid Waste Management Handbook. Diane Publishing Company, Derby. EPA, 1999. Collection Efficiency: Strategies for Success, (accessed 30.10.13). Fahmi, W.S., 2005. The impact of privatization of solid waste management on the Zabaleen garbage collectors of Cairo. Environ. Urban. 17, 155–170. GARNET, 2000. Source Separation Internet Conference. (accessed January 2014). Halpern, M.T., 2001. Impact of smoking status on workplace absenteeism and productivity. Tobacco Control 10, 233–238. Hosetti, B.B., 2006. Prospects and Perspectives of Solid Waste Management. New Age International, New Delhi. Kassim, S.M., Ali, M., 2006. Solid Waste Collection by the Private Sector: Households’ Perspective – Findings from a Study in Dar es Salaam city, Tanzania, vol. 30. Habitat International, pp. 769–780. Kgathi, D.L., Bolaane, B., 2001. Instruments for sustainable solid waste management in Botswana. Waste Manage. Res. 19, 342–350.
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Lusthaus, C., Adrien, M.H., Anderson, G., Garden, F., Montalvan, G.P., 2002. Organizational Assessment: a Framework for Improving Performance. International Development Research centre, Ottawa. Mandl, U., Dierx, A., Ilzkovitz, F., 2008. The Effectiveness and Efficiency of Public Spending, Economic Paper 301. European Commission, Brussels. McEvoy, G.M., Cascio, W.F., 1989. Cumulative evidence of relationship between employee age and job performance. J. Appl. Psychol. 74 (1), 11–17. Mmegi, 2010. Gaborone City Council fails to collect garbage, MmegiOnline. 27 (53) (accessed 08.09.13). Mmegi, 2012. Gaborone could soon bury its dead in stacks. MmegiOnline. 29 (86) www.mmegi.bw> (accessed 08.09.13). Oduro-Kwarteng, S., van Dijk, M.P., 2008. Performance of Private Companies involved in Urban Solid Waste Management: Evidence from three Cities in Ghana. In: 33rd WEDC International Conference, Accra. Oduro-Kwarteng, S., van Dijk, M.P., 2013. The effect of increased private sector participation involvement in solid waste collection in five cities in Ghana. Waste Res. 31 (10), 81–92. Ogwueleka, T.C., 2009. Municipal solid waste characteristics and management in Nigeria, Iran. J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng. 6 (3), 173–180. Ramachandra, T.V., 2006. Management of Municipal Solid Waste. Teri Press, New Delhi. Robinson, W.D., 1986. The Solid Waste Handbook: A Practical Guidance. John Wiley and Sons, New York. Tsai, S.P., Wen, C.P., Hu, S.C., Cheng, T.Y., Huang, S.J., 2005. Workplace smoking related absenteeism and productivity costs in Taiwan. Tobacco Control 14 (Suppl I), i33–i37. UN-HABITAT, 1988. Refuse Collection Vehicles for Developing Countries, UNHABITAT, Nairobi. UNCHS, 1994. A Reference Handbook for Trainers on Promotion of Solid Waste Recycling and Reuse in Developing Countries of Asia, Nairobi, UNCHS. Watungwa, E.C., Ngome, E., 1998. An assessment of the pilot project on waste management in Gaborone South – Public opinion on the operations of the contractor. Gaborone City Council, Gaborone.