Some streets of Serekunda are still with piles of rubbish three days after the monthly cleaning exercise locally call SET SETAL of February 2, 2008.The general cleaning exercise is an idea from the President Yayah Jammeh, after the July 22 coup of 1994. This is an exercise which is regularly done every last Saturday of the month. The exercise of January 25 2008 was postponed due to the University convocation ceremony and was done on February 2008.
The Media Agenda’s Current Affairs roaming reporter went around finding out what the people think about the cleaning exercise, and the after math which leaves more hips of rubbish on the streets.
After twenty-five tractors were purchased by the kanifing Municipal Council why is it taking them too long to collect the rubbish on the streets? He first catch up with Lamin Njie who said he resides along the kombo Sillah Drive who said it is always the case that instead of cleaning their area it was only an opportunity for people to pull out their rubbish and place in on the high way, only to be left there un collected for days. He said after such an exercise no collection of their rubbish is carried out by the local council. He went to say he cannot understand why such hips should still be on the high way. This high way is one that is a main link to Banjul and many other many towns.Njie feels that this is a disgrace to the newly elected Mayor of the Kanifing Municipal Council (KMC). During the recently concluded local government elections, we were told that twenty-five new tractors were bought just for refuge collections, so what is happening to those tractors? This is a total dismay to me that our municipality is filthier today than before. The propaganda is just enough, and that the councilors and the elected Mayor should just be truth full to the electorates.
Sainabou Kah said for her she is optimistic that the municipality will be clean; we only need to give the newly elected local authorities’ time. She is of the opinion that to some extend it is the people who should be blame. The way and manner people dispose their disposal is just not acceptable.
Alieu Manneh said the throwing of litters any where and any how will not help the situation. He said yes equipment should be provided by councils for people to be able to dispose responsibly, but the people should be ones to responsibly dispose their refuges. The council needs to provide dustbins all over and then the bins should be collected regularly by KMC.
For Ansumana Kujabi, he said since the introduction of the monthly cleaning exercise there is a rapid drop in the malaria burden. So people should keep it up. But he caution government that the idea needs more sensitization rather imposition. The last Saturdays are terrible for the poor because this are days and time when emergencies that needed transport is always a problem. Since there are no commercial transports it is always a problem to get one. That is concern for government to look at.
A government personal said under animosity that the people should begin to act responsibly but government has a bigger role to play. He also subscribe to the issue of sensitization rather than imposition. He felt that the issue of partisan should be taken out of it; if we are to make any head way as the issue is more of national than partisan. He calls on the local authorities to make maximum use of the tractors.