For the first time in the history of foreign diplomacy in The Gambia, the staff of the Taiwanese Embassy led by Ambassador Richards Shih, Saturday physically teamed up with a group of youths from Kanifing Municipality in cleaning up the Banjul-Serrekunda highway. They were also joined by a fraction of the Taiwanese community.

The Saturday’s Operation Clean the Nation (OCN) saw the Taiwanese plenipotentiary and a multitude of his staff, who assembled at Denton Bridge, in physical action, gradually transforming the scenery of the most-used highway. The OCN was initiated four years ago by President Jammeh to improve on the health of the people and ensure environmental cleanliness.

Shortly before the exercise begun, the participants were sub-divided into three groups, to compete for various prizes such as heaviest garbage, most garbage and best effort, which were staked by the embassy. T-shirts, rakes, broomsticks, cutlasses, wheel barrows and hard gloves were provided to facilitate the worthwhile cause.

The exercise, which lasted for several hours, enabled the participants to handpick and gather a blot of wastes, apparently discarded along the highway by its users, especially passing vehicles. The wastes were all packed in a huge black nylon bag for immediate disposal.

By the time the signs of the rainfall emboldened to interrupt the exercise, the participants had covered a considerable distance of the highway from the Denton Bridge towards Serrekunda, giving the greening environment its true bloom.

Speaking at the start of the Set-settal, Momodou Kotu Cham, the secretary of state for Forestry and Environment, wholeheartedly welcomed the move and commended Ambassador Shih for the initiative. Secretary of State Cham observed that, for a foreign embassy to partake in such a national exercise physically is unprecedented, noting that this explains that foreign embassies can also participate beyond the scope of normal diplomatic relations.

Emphasising the exemplary contribution of the Taiwanese Embassy, SoS Cham added: "You are putting yourselves in the midst of the dirt and I hope other foreign embassies will take part, because our health is their health and their health is our health." The Forestry and Environment SoS then thanked Ambassador Shih and his staff for their participation in the activity.

Joseph Jasseh, the permanent secretary at the Department of State for Defence, stressed the importance of a clean environment to the health of the people, alluding that "cleanliness is next to Godliness".

For his part, Ambassador Shih expressed his embassy’s delight to be associated with the cause, which he considered as a service to the country.

"We want to do our part to make this beautiful country cleaner," he said, pledging that they would be relentless in associating themselves with the cause. "We will do our best to keep the environment clean and we will always do this," he assured.

Momodou Sarr, the executive director of the National Environment Agency, who chaired the ceremony, condemned the negative practice of throwing wastes along the highway. Mr Sarr said, such an act contravenes the anti-littering laws, which provide a maximum fine of D5,000 for guilty offenders.

The NEA boss called on the public to be vigilant and take down the numbers of vehicles spotted in committing such an offence and lodge them with the agency for immediate action.