Who is responsible for collecting market garbage?

(Issue, Tuesday 31st March 2015)

Vendors at the Serekunda Market are complaining bitterly about the stinking odour and foul air pollution being emitted by the heaps of refuse around the market, over the past days.

We all know what such situations mean and what they lead to. They pose a serious health hazard and serve as breeding ground for disease outbreak in a community or country. We should not allow that to happen, because outbreaks take lives, distort social cohesion and hamper economies, which take a country many steps backwards.

It is clear that this hazardous situation is allowed because refuse collectors have not done their job, or is it the relevant authorities and those at the top who have not put things right?

The heaps of refuse have been in and around the market for almost a week, causing foul smell and posing a health hazard to consumers who go to the market, passers-by and people living around the vicinity.

Some shops in the area have been forced to close and cease operation, as shop owners and buyers could not bear the stench.

And while market women and vendors are paying their dues regularly, no serious action is being taken to ensure refuse dumped at the market is collected for disposal at the appropriate place, as the heaps of garbage have revealed.

So who is responsible for refuse collection, and what is causing the sluggish attitude towards the job by those responsible for such assignments?

Something somewhere must have gone wrong, and we are calling on the authorities concerned to move in quickly and remedy the situation.

“We want the relevant authorities to help us remove these heaps of refuse, as vendors are also entitled to a healthy environment,” a vendor called on the authorities concerned.

The effects of waste and poor waste disposal are manifold; they range from environmental effects, to surface water contamination, soil contamination, pollution, leachate (that is, liquid that forms as water trickles through contaminated areas), as well as economic effects.

For these and other unforeseen reasons, we as nation should be careful and remain highly conscious of hygiene and our surroundings.

“ Quality, service, cleanliness, and value.”

Cavett Robert