Monrovia – Pedestrians in Monrovia are not finding it easy moving around the main city center without them uncomfortably doing all to cover their noses.
On every major street in the city center, the covers of most of the manholes have been removed or broken thereby leaving the wastes in those sewage lines to be pouring out on the main streets. They are also oozing very offensive scents, making breathing very uneasy in those parts of the city.
Our reporter, who toured those streets Wednesday, January 13, noticed that the feces overflowing the streets in Monrovia, are not only a public nuisance to pedestrians but also to vendors, who carry out their commercial activities in those parts of Monrovia.
Water Street, Mechlin Street, Newport Street, Broad Street, Gurley Street, Benson Street, and other parts of Monrovia City are not free from pollutions caused as a result of the wastes that have spilled over. These streets are mainly the ones that are crowded daily with commuters, vendors and residents.
For many, the problem of open sewage shows the inability of the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC) to properly handle the issue of the sewer system in the city.
Speaking with the Public Relations Officer of the LWSC, Nimpson Todd said the problem of feces spilling on the streets is ‘aged-old’ and the LWSC is doing all that it can to fix those sewages.
“Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation, from time to time, discharges septic tanks. What happens is that the line gets charged due to many persons using their private septic tanks that go into the LWSC sewer. We go there and suck up the feces from the place and carry it to our station in Fiamah and if you see it like that -is because we have not done the suck-out of the line yet,” Todd said.
“The pump that sends the feces straight to our facility in Fiamah got spoiled during the war. There was a pump just around the Water Street bell but it got destroyed during the war,” Todd disclosed.
A septic tank on Mechlin Street, few meters away from Malag Clinic, is one of the places that are pouring out huge feces, which are seen rolling down several feet away to Broad and Randall Streets. This is causing the stench to fill the air, thereby causing pollution for passersby and vendors.
“The pump that responsible to send the feces straight to our facility in Fiamah got spoiled during the war. There was a pump just around the Water Street belt –it got destroyed during the war.”
– Nimpson Todd Public Relations Officer of LWSC
Sam Sumo sells scratch cards and operates a forex bureau at the intersection of Board and Mechlin Streets. He has to painstakingly endure the stench coming from the sewage every day.
According to him, a group of vendors has met the authority of the LWSC requesting them to fix the problem but to no avail.
“Normally, these feces always sit on this particular street but lately, it has increased and since last week till now the Liberia Water and Sewer has not come to address this situation,” Sumo said.
“We went to LWSC office twice this week; they gave us the assurances that they will come and clean this place but as you can see the place has gone very bad that we are barely able to do our businesses.
“I do not know why people are not paying attention to their jobs. President George Weah will not come down from his office and clean this mess.”
He added: “This place has become ‘Hold your nose and pass’. When rain falls you can feel sorry for Mechlin Street, Board Street, and even Randall Street. The pollution cannot be easy. These are the principal streets of Monrovia and the respective authority is not paying attention to curtail the pollution.”
Another area that is heavily polluted is the commercial hub on Water Street. Marcus Doe and other vendors are feeling the hell from the stench that is caused by the burst septic tank at the famous Waterside Market.
Doe, a store owner, complained that the business transaction is slow because of the heavy pollution that is not far from the front of his store.
“When people come, pollution cannot give them the chance to stand and buy. This is embarrassing and we are calling on the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation to come to our aid,” Doe said.
Also, Nancy Wesseh, a shopper at the Waterside Market told FPA that the pollution is unbearable taking into consideration the number of persons that converge daily to transact on Water Street.
“I came to buy my children’s school materials, but stench is giving me hell to move from one place to another because of the pupu (feces) water that is on the main Waterside Market road,” she said.
Ms. Wesseh added: “The place has gone longed with this pollution and I hope that our government can quickly intervene and find the everlasting solution to this place.”