The idea taken by the National Environment Agency during last Saturday’s monthly operation clean the nation known as set-settal is indeed a good one.
Despite the set-settal, the NEA allowed people to go about their normal business, which is indeed a good move.
In our view, the monthly set-settal should have nothing to do with the daily business of people as both can be done simultaneously, and it is in this light that we would like to urge the NEA to make it a continuous process so as to enable people do their business transactions.
We would like to commend the National Environment Agency and all other stakeholders for move, and hope that it will continue.
However, as we always highlight on these pages over and over again, the NEA and especially the Kanifing Municipal Council should endeavor to ensure that refuse collected during every set-settal is disposed of in the right place on the very day itself.
The idea of cleaning our environment on a regular basis is indeed a noble initiative, and we once again commend the Office of the President and the National Environment Agency for this positive step.
But the essence of gathering heaps of garbage will only be rewarding, so to say, if an effective system of disposal is put in place so that after the drudgery of gathering the refuse at specific points, it could be collected and quickly disposed of.
Otherwise, the detractors of the idea of involving the populace in cleaning the environment on a regular basis would have the chance to revel at the obvious setbacks in the presence of refuse heaps in our midst.
Our brothers at both the NEA office and the Kanifing Municipal Council are, no doubt, well aware of the fact that such garbage heaps are very good breeding places for mosquitoes and other insects, potent hazards to the health of the population.
Once again, we call on the Kanifing Municipal Council to look into this matter as quickly as possible. We would also like to appeal to private truck owners to consider helping with the collection and disposal of the refuse as the well-being of every nation is a collective responsibility.
