The Assembly of People’s Representatives (ARP) adopted in plenary session on Tuesday evening a draft law No. 2023-39 amending Law No. 96-41 of 10 June 1996 on control and regulation of its management and disposal, with 103 votes in favour, 5 against and 7 abstentions.
This bill proposes an amendment to article 20 of the aforementioned law, which stipulated in its previous version that “Local authorities and groups of municipalities that rally together are responsible for household waste management. They may entrust household waste collection, elimination and treatment operations or facilities to public or private companies in the form of subcontracting or concessions”.
The new article 20 stipulates that “Local authorities and groups of municipalities that rally together are responsible for household waste management. They may entrust household waste collection, elimination and treatment operations or facilities to public or private companies in accordance with possible contractual formulas regulated by the
legislation in force”.
Reacting to MPs who criticised the country’s environmental situation, Environment Minister Leila Chikhaoui said that waste burial was a method adopted in several countries around the world and that it had been adopted in Tunisia to limit the dangers of uncontrolled waste disposal.
In response to speeches by Members of Parliament concerning corruption in the Tunisian environment sector, Chikhaoui stressed that cases of corruption and those involving lobbies were a matter for the courts, inviting anyone with relevant files to take them to court.
On another level, the Minister announced that a pilot ecological village would be created in the region of Sfax, adding that calls for tenders for this project had been launched and that the Department of the Environment would soon examine the tenders received.
The MPs present at this plenary session had criticised the environmental situation in the country, stressing the right of citizens to a healthy environment and calling for a change from
the current method of burying waste, which aggravates pollution in the country, to the recovery of waste.
Other MPs called for the promulgation of the Environment Code to be speeded up and for the logistical, financial and human resources of municipalities to be strengthened so that they can fulfil their waste collection and management mission.
Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse