Eastern Region News March 30, 2008 17:48 PM Branch Offices Of Solid Waste Management Corporation To Be Set Up TEMERLOH, March 30 (Bernama) -- Branch offices of the National Solid Waste Management Corporation will be set up in stages throughout the country. Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Hamzah Zainuddin said these branch offices would facilitate cooperation between the local authorities in each state and the corporation in solid waste management. "Hence, the local authorities need not wait for the ministry but can instead deal directly with the corporation in solving related problems," he told reporters after officiating at a programme involving visits to poor families, here Sunday. Also present was Entrepreneur and Cooperative Development Deputy Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who is also Temerloh Member of Parliament. Hamzah said the appointment of officers for the corporation's branch offices had begun and they would carry out their duties soon. The government had, in June last year, approved a RM1 billion allocation to set up the corporation to provide more effective solid waste management and public cleansing services throughout the country. Former Melaka Historical City Mayor Datuk Zaini Md Nor was appointed its chief executive officer. On another development, Hamzah said his ministry aimed to reduce the number of urban poor people to 2.8 percent from 5.6 percent currently through continued implementation of the Urban Poverty Eradication Programme. -- BERNAMA