By Tamsir Manneh
Halifa Sallah NAM for Serekunda Constituency yesterday morning, 5th of September 2017 paid a courtesy call on the mayor of KMC. This is his first call on the authorities after his successful European Tour.
Mayor Yankuba Colley speaking just after his discussion with Mr Sallah mentioned the significance of his European tour and the importance it has to the Council. He added that Mr Sallah would have returned and be himself since the trip was unofficial but he rather took it upon himself to engage the authorities and share his experience to better the situation if not to achieve the same as in Europe for the welfare of the Gambians.
“The discussion was centered on waste management, tarred roads being covered with sand, the drainage blocked by garbage but more precisely on the management of Waste within the Municipality.
“In fact, well before he was elected, he (Sallah) engaged me on so many apolitical issues of importance and as a council we heeded to his advice for the benefit of the people living within the Municipality and the Country,” the Mayor remarked.
Mr Sallah has pledged to share the experience he has gathered during the tour with Government authorities more specifically on waste management, drainage and road construction which is a challenge in the Kanifinig Municipality.
Mr Sallah is confident that with a proper system in place, the challenges faced in the Kanifing Municipality will be a thing of the past.
He said, “We are not looking at a fast track solution, we are looking at a comprehensive overview of a problem and then look at the parts of the problem. We have looked at what is possible in the interim and have seen that a system is necessary and once a system is established we know how to sort out the waste. Actual studies reveal that the source of smoke, odour and maggots are from organic waste. If we can establish that, then we can isolate it from the other waste. When that happens, we immediately solve a major problem.”
Mr Sallah continued: “We discussed and agreed that I will do a concrete study on this and consult all the experts and get to a conclusion so that a system can be developed. The other waste such as plastic can be developed; even though we have managed plastics but still certain plastics are available”
Then comes the issue of sorting the waste. Mr Sallah believes that it has to begin from our homes. “We must involve the homes, our communities, the council and the state. Once we agree on the basics, then education becomes the key and what we do next is to move on to the implementation of strategies”.
The consultation trail will continue. He intends to engage the Ministry responsible for regional government, National Roads Authority and NAWEC. He said the issue is not only on solid waste but liquid waste management as well, energy production in recycling, road construction and the drainage system.
“We have tried to do a study on the drainage system and have realised that we don’t have a sewage system in the KMC, but what is the alternative?
“I have engaged the former PS Ministry of works Mr Abdoulie Jobe as well as water Engineer Halifa Jobe and one Musa Sallah who is also an engineer, we will also be involving Saraneh Hydara who is also an engineer in the constituency. We are trying to build a team that will look into the issue of drainage. Halifa Jobe has come up with an alternative system and we hope that ultimately, in fact that will be an intellectual property. So we will be discussing that with the Ministry of Works and if we see eye to eye, we can go into experimentation and eventually adoption of such processes.”
Comprehensive study is being done in order to find a lasting solution to the problems of waste management, drainage and other related issues.
It could be recalled that Hon. Sallah in the month of August visited 5 European countries, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Austria and Germany. During the trip he had the opportunity to visit waste-to-Energy plants and other areas of interest.
