Foroyaa has reported that the National Roads Authority (NRA) has contracted companies to unplug the drains in the Kanifing Municipality before any heavy downpour of rains. We have been informed by the NRA that a sum of 7 million dalasi has been allocated for the unplugging of drains during this financial year. The companies contracted either do not have the equipment or are unwilling to remove the waste from the drains with immediacy after their unplugging.
Residents in the affected areas, especially those near the Serrekunda maternity clinic, pedestrians and passers-by are making a huge outcry of the waste that lie helter-skelter, inviting huge swarms of flies and odour that no civilized society should witness for a day.
The National Environment Agency (NEA) is responsible for preventing environmental degradation and littering of the street with waste. Hence if the NEA and NRA collaborate contractors will perform their duties by ensuring that the waste from the drains will go directly into transports for their disposal at proper waste disposal sites. NRA should also have full control over the contractors and full supervision of their work. The contractors should be informed that the public is dissatisfied with the way they leave the streets with piles of waste dumps for a week after unplugging drains.
The weather has been cooperative by the occasioning of a dry spell after the first mild rain. By now all the drains would have been unplugged and taken to dumpsites if adequate labour pools and trucks had been mobilized to carry out the work.
Furthermore, the KMC authorities have still not solved the problems of providing adequate markets for the vendors who are paying dues to the municipality. Consequently, the vendors contribute to the disposal of waste on top of the waste dump from the drains, thus adding insult to injury. The community claims to be abandoned by the authorities. Hence Foroyaa is calling on the NRA, KMC, NEA and Traffic Unit of the Gambia Police Force to join hands to put their acts together to make our drains clean, our roads free from waste and our streets free for the movement of pedestrians and vehicles without any obstruction. This is the least expected from the community central and local government authorities. In the spirit of advocacy journalism, Foroyaa will continue its campaign to hold the central government and the relevant local government authorities in the KM accountable, especially those in the vicinity of the Serekunda maternity clinic and the Serekunda main market.
