MONROVIA – Laurent Delahousse, the Head of the European Union Mission in Liberia says Liberia’s capital city (Monrovia) is “dirty and disgusting” after the pouring in of donors’ aid to clean up the city.
Ambassador Delahousse addressing a forum organized by the Monrovia City Council disclosed that he was “a bit surprised” by what he saw when he arrived in Liberia a year ago.
“Monrovia is a disgusting city, it is a dirty city. Of all the capitals I have seen in my previous posts in Africa, I have not seen one that is as dirty as yours,” EU Ambassador asserted.
Ambassador Delahousse at the same time admonished officials of the city of Monrovia to address the issue of waste that continues to pose serious challenge for the Monrovia City government.
“A clean city is an asset; it creates jobs and probably that is what Liberia needs most,” Ambassador Delahousse stressed.
In response to the EU Ambassador, the Monrovia City Mayor Jefferson T. Koijee said Ambassador Laurent Delahousse’ comment that Monrovia is one of the dirtiest cities he has visited is basically a restatement of the Monrovia City Corporation’s position that solid waste handling in the City of Monrovia is overwhelming their capacity to deal with the existing challenges they have in the absence of a sustainable approach.
Mayor Koijee appreciated the Head of European Union Delegation to Liberia for recognizing what he termed as enormity of the challenge the City Government faces in handling solid waste in the City of Monrovia.
Koijee stressed that there is no gainsaying that “solid Waste handling in Monrovia City remains a fundamental challenge fronting their vision for a clean, green and safe environment.
According to Mayor Koijee, the methods used before now to keep the City of Monrovia clean were not owned by the citizenry. He said, despite the help of international partners, the challenge remains enormous.
“We have not come to leadership to make excuses for these drawbacks or shift blames but these are issues we are overcoming,” Mayor Koijee said.
“I am glad that the European Union Delegation to Liberia through its head realizes the enormity of our challenge. We are committed to changing the narrative notwithstanding,” the Monrovia City Mayor stressed.
He indicated that the recognition of the challenge goes a long way, adding that European Union and other partners need to continuously assist the City Government’s work to institute a sustainable framework.
Mayor Koijee believes that every cent spent on waste management would make no impact unless a sustainable strategy that would harness the full involvement and ownership of the ordinary citizens in terms of the way waste is handled gets into place.
“We are not here to make excuses. We came to solve a problem. Achieving this would require all hands on deck,” Mayor Jefferson Koijee pointed out.
According to him, the City Government is adopting a bottom to top approach that would allow community leaders to work with households to put in place a regimented waste disposal mechanism that is sustainable primarily because the people would take ownership while the city Government provides leadership.
He said another way the City Government of Monrovia is looking to remedy the menace is through converting the solid waste to value added products such as briquettes for domestic as well industrial fuel.
Mayor Koijee added, “That is why a forum was organized to bring all stakeholders to the table to discuss ways as well as communicate to them the sustainable approach the city government is putting in place to address the abounding challenges.”
