Enforcing City Ordinances Without Fear or Favor

The Paynesville City Corporation may appear not to be unwavering in ensuring better public health and wholesome business practice in the municipality. In pursuance of these goals, the corporation recently embarked on a joint operation of its Departments of Sanitation, Environmental and Commercial, shutting down and subsequently fining several businesses in violation of its audiences. Among businesses targeted by the joint-operation were cold storages, which sold “rotten” fishes and other products. Attributing factors responsible for the corporation’s decision to shut down and fined were poor sanitary and environmental condition, as well as the failure to pay municipal taxes.

The joint-operation, aimed at enforcing the sanitation policy of the Paynesville City Corporation, hooked people who do food and water business in a city with more than three-hundred thousand inhabitants. The corporation intends to extend its operation to hotels and motels in Paynesville to ensure proper and better services they deserve.

It is no secret that there are lots of violations by businesses, and the need to practically enforce the city ordinances to the latter cannot be over-emphasized. While we applaud the management of the PCC for such a move, we can only hope that ‘campaign’ was not a sycophantic impression just to appease the President of Liberia on the occasion of Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which also targeted Paynesville mostly.

While the Ministry of Commerce and Industry continues to deliberately ignore facts about the existence and sale of expired and rotten goods on the Liberian market, city corporations across the country must now place emphasis on cross-checking unscrupulous business practices by non-Liberian merchants and dealers. More than the sale of rotten goods, the environment in which these transactions take place between these business men and women and customers are unhealthy, hazardous and infective-something Health Ministry authorities continue to give blind eyes.

For good business practices and public safety, the Paynesville City Corporation and its counter-parts in Monrovia and elsewhere must leave no stone unturned in enforcing their ordinances. Such exercise must also take into consideration periodic inspection of goods in supermarkets, shops, as well as stores, among others.

As we commend the PCC for the recent initiative, the issue of parking stations for commercial vehicles must also be address. The Federation of Transport Union of Liberia and Genuine Transport Union of Liberia must be brought to book for the disorganization and untidiness of parking stations, especially at the commercial district of Redlight and ELWA Junction in the same Paynesville, as well as Duala and other areas on Bushrod Island, among others across the country.

The FTUL and GTUL must be made not to keep these parking stations DIRTY. They must also be made to realize the need to properly organize their various lots at the parking stations, always located before Lebanese, Fula and other business centers. City ordinances must be enforced without fear or favor for sanity and public safety