By Lewis S. Teh
The Monrovia City Corporation or (MCC) in collaboration with the Liberia Crusaders for Peace has kicked off intensive cleaning up exercises in central Monrovia, Bushrod Island, and other surrounding communities in preparation for the upcoming Bicentennial celebration which is slated to commence this Friday, January 7th, 2022.
The exercise, which began on early Christmas morning, is currently ongoing across the city.
MCC Director-General for Internal Affairs Prince King Andrew said it took many by surprise that the city corporation has embarked on this vigorous clean-up exercise in light of the upcoming Bicentennial celebration.
“We’re currently carrying out this vigorous cleaning up exercise to keep our city clean, no challenges will ever stop us from doing our work”
He said as part of their normal duty to ensure a clean city, several disadvantaged youths have volunteered to help the city corporation clean the city, noting that is why you’re seeing us going around to give our city a facelift.
Mr. Andrew continues that the city corporation has a decentralized approach to cleaning up Monrovia and its environs, saying “We are hopeful that this exercise will continue to bring relief to our people and the country at large.”
According to him, reasons why garbage often overwhelmed the city is due to lack of waste value chain, logistics, recycling including the technology of waste management, but Mayor Koijee is doing all he can to make sure the MCC is able to adequately undertake its mandate to keep the city clean.
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“We have been opting for inclusiveness, participation and to see our youths coming up to volunteer their service, I think it is remarkable.”
He says there are so many challenges confronting the City Corporation, including inadequate resources, adding “before it was our donors who were funding the collection of waste, but now it is the government and for that, we want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to the President for his continuous support to the MCC, we can assure our foreign partners, visitors, including the general public of our commitment to addressing the issues of garbage.”
Also speaking, Mayor Jefferson Tamba Koijee said the exercise is intended to keep Monrovia clean and green as the nation joins Christendom in commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ and the New Year.
Mayor Koijee named some of the major targeted areas as the infamous Pennoh Building, also known as Casablanca Building on Center Street in Central Monrovia, Bong Mines Bridge on the Bushrod Island – outskirts of Monrovia, Mandingo Graveyard on the Old Road, and Happy Corner down the Waterside General Market, among others.
The issue of proper solid waste management has been a major challenge for the government and its people, something that has led to immense public criticisms of the authorities here by both local and international bodies, including the European Union, whose Head of Delegation, once described Monrovia as a “dirty and disgusting” city.
With the redemption exercise of making the city and its environs clean, Mayor Koijee thanked employees of the MCC for waking up to the call of duty in enhancing the cleanup exercise.
At the same time, Hafiz A. V. Sannor, Director of Central Region of the Solid Waste Management Department at the MCC, noted that the Monrovia City Government, in the face of numerous challenges including limited or spoiled equipment, lack of fuel to carry out the work ascribed to it, is deploying available resources to live up to assigned duties.
“We had challenges that led to these places being overwhelmed but we have come to address it for the good of all,” Director Sannor stated.
The Director-General of Solid Waste, Frederick Cole, stressed the need for Liberians to take charge of cleaning their environment.
He said wastes that have overtaken these targeted areas were not brought there by the Mayor of Monrovia but the residents themselves.
He promised that five skip buckets would be placed especially at the Center Street disposal point to ensure proper control of waste disposal and collection to avoid spillover.
He re-echoed the city government’s commitment to maintaining a clean environment across Monrovia.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/mary-broh-to-clean-up-monrovia/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
