Trash contention

Local government and foreign waste management firms are at loggerheads at the nation's capital. Dena Rashed follows reconciliation efforts

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When Cairo launched its new waste management project two years ago, hopes were high that the city would soon rise to international standards of cleanliness. Today, although some aspects of the project have been successful, the overall scheme has been plagued with so many problems that the Italian Embassy held a press conference last month, in an effort to improve the image of the two Italian waste management companies working in Egypt.

One of the firms, International Environmental Services (IES), together with the Spanish company FCC, is facing constant challenges while trying to deal with the 3,000 tonnes of daily garbage produced by the Giza Governorate. The other Italian firm, Ama Arab Environment Company (AAEC), along with FCC and Enser, another Spanish firm, are responsible for cleanliness in Cairo proper.

The companies' responsibilities include everything from keeping the streets clean and collecting garbage door-to-door, to making sure public areas are spotless. The project has been mired in controversy, however, with the government and the companies being criticised for everything from charging exorbitant fees to providing erratic service.

With the service in Giza seemingly faring the worst, IES and the governorate have been exchanging accusations and blame. That was one of the reasons why the Italian Embassy decided to organise a press conference aimed at correcting the "misleading information" that has been circulating about the two Italian companies -- IES in Giza, and AAEC in Cairo.

Representatives of both companies were invited to discuss their performance, as well as the problems they are facing, while trying to clean up Greater Cairo.

AAEC representative Antonio Canale blamed the company's inconsistent service in Cairo's northern area on administrative errors. The fact that some of the company's equipment was held in customs for a long time affected the work, he said. It was only via high-level intervention that the equipment was eventually released. Canale called the problem "an administrative mistake on the part of the governorate, not the company".

Part of the problem in Giza had to do with the penalties imposed on the other Italian company, IES, by the Giza Cleanliness and Beautification Authority (GCBA -- the body responsible for monitoring the work) for what it called inconsistent service. Additional penalties were levied after the company's employees went on strike in May.

Although GCBA officials were not invited to the press conference, they showed up anyway in order to present their perspective on the matter. According to GCBA Head Abdel-Hamid Nada, "the company has not reached the level of excellence [we expected]. They also stopped working for five days, all of which was unacceptable to us."

The conflict between IES and the governorate seemed to be centred on defining the level of service expected of the company in the first place. With the governorate dissatisfied with the work, only LE7 million out of the LE36 million the company should have been paid for their 11 months of work thus far had actually been disbursed.

As a result, the company took its case to the Cabinet- affiliated Ministerial Committee for Settling Disputes (MCSD). IES Managing Director Khaled El-Alami said, "we have been working in an uncooperative environment." Because the company had not been paid in full by the governorate, he said, some employees were left without pay, and ended up going on strike, "thus affecting our performance."

During the heated debate at the embassy press conference, Nada argued that the companies chosen to implement the project were specifically selected for their solid financial structures, which should have helped them withstand any temporary financial hiccups. While IES argued that the governorate's contractual obligations had to be met under any conditions, Nada claimed part of the sum that was not paid was being used to cover taxes that needed to be paid by the company to the governorate.

The MCSD, meanwhile, decided that IES should receive 50 per cent of its money immediately, while a committee would be formed to discuss the issue and update MCSD on the situation. Although IES, according to El- Alami, is back to work at full capacity, the committee has yet to be formed.

In response to a comment made by Nada about the problem being resolved locally without the intervention of a foreign country, the embassy's economic counsellor, Nicoletta Bombardiere, said the role of any embassy is to safeguard the interests of its citizens and companies. "Both sides are facing a problem by misinterpreting the articles of the contract," he said. "We hope that the conference has served as a meeting point for them."

Whether anything positive will emerge from that meeting remains to be seen.