Monrovia – Since she assumed authority as the Mayor of the City of Paynesville, Madam E. Pam Belcher-Taylor sees the need of turning her municipality into a clean and green environment.
Report by Willie N. Tokpa, [email protected]
In order to achieve this, she sees management of wastes and returns as key components in waste disposal.
Mayor Belcher-Taylor, who is currently attending a seminar on the management of wastes and returns in the Swedish City of Helsingborg, said the need to transform wastes into electricity is essential for Paynesville.
The seminar, according to PCC authority, is aimed at building the capacities of city managers to transform wastes into electricity and creation of “smart cities.”
The Paynesville City Mayor said these ideas are important for her city, which is constantly affected by huge piles of garbage, especially in the Red Light Market areas.
She, however, stated that her administration is lobbying with key partners for means that will address the situation of disposing of the garbage.
According to Jeremiah Diggen, the Public Relations officer, in the department of communications, the city is currently using rented materials to dispose of garbage across the city. Diggen added that the need for adequate funding and logistics are essential.
Currently, in Paynesville, which is the second largest city in Montserrado County, trash disposal remains a serious challenge for Madam Belcher-Taylor’s administration.
Diggen noted that the lack of adequate logistics has made it difficult to respond swiftly to waste control in the municipality as Paynesville is one of the largest heavily populated cities in Liberia.
“Controlling wastes and proper management have over the years been a serious problem facing residents of Paynesville,” Diggen added.
Recently, a team from the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC), a sister city of Paynesville, had to move in to help assist the city to dispose a huge pile of garbage within the Goba-chop market. This garbage has been lying there for months.
The Paynesville City Mayor made mention of this exercise at the seminar she is attending in Sweden.
Mayor Belcher-Taylor expressed frustration over challenges confronting wastes management not only to Paynesville alone but all other cities in Liberia.
According to a dispatch from Sweden, she believes that fruitful discussions from the seminar would help adequately boost the capacity of PCC.
Paynesville is the only city representing Africa at the forum, which is also being attended by several entities including Nordic Heat Academy and Advisory Services and Training Center, Hotspot Global Business Centers and Smart City Alliance International Partnerships.
According to the dispatch, Mayor Belcher-Taylor along with two other persons were fortunate to tour the Filborna EFW Installation, which is a Waste-to-Energy Management Plant in Helsingborg and it is owned by that Swedish city.