It is refreshing to walk around the Kanifing Municipal Council area these days. It is good because the amount of rubbish on the streets has been noticeably reduced. This is down in the main to the KMC tractors, trailers and teams of workmen who have been traveling the area removing the large rubbish piles which had been gathering for a significant amount of time. We praised the efforts of these teams when they began their service and urged them to do a good job in the face of an uphill struggle. Now it seems as though a very effective system is in place as the streets are noticeably cleaner.
Bins are regularly filled with rubbish indicating that people are definitely using them. Coupled with this is the fact that the instance of litter along the avenue has also reduced. It is clear from these experiences that people are very eager to make use of proper sanitation services if they are available. People want a clean environment and they show this by making use of litter bins where they are available and rubbish collection where that can be accessed also. This is an important lesson to us all.
The government has reiterated repeatedly the importance of a healthy environment and it seems that people are indeed heeding this advice. When there is a healthy and clean environment people feel proud and also benefit from a reduction in the instance of vermin such as rats and mosquitoes.
We urge all in the private and public sectors to play their role in increasing the number of litter bins available to people. It will not only benefit our health but our image before the eyes of tourists.
"Not being healthy . . . . is one of the few sins that modern society is willing to recognize and condemn."
Robertson Davies
