Paynesville – The Mayor of the City of Paynesville Madam Pam Belcher-Taylor says residents of the city caught dumping dirt on the streets and near private homes will be arrested.
Report by Augustine T. Tweh, [email protected] and Edwin Genoway, Jr., [email protected]
“We will arrest anyone caught dumping dirt on the main roads, water waves, near fence and
She also called on owners of businesses and homes to subscribe with sanitation firm operating in the city to enable the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) collect waste from various communities, homes and market places in the city.
The Mayor statement on Monday came as hundreds of marketers protested in the commercial district of Red Light over poor garbage management.
Marketers of the famous Gobachop Market shut down their businesses in protest over the presence of huge garbage, which they claim is causing stench and pollution.
The marketers promised to continue their protest until the authority of the PCC intervene by removing the garbage.
The marketers claimed that despite garbage fees paid to the Liberia Marketing Association (LMA) and the PCC daily, both managements have failed to get rid of the waste.
Some marketers told FrontPageAfrica that the amount of L$50 per person without shop and L$100 per shop is paid to the LMA daily to collect garbage in the market.
One marketer, Sarah Morris said the LMA and PCC have done nothing to keep the market clean.
“They are all money eaters, what do they do with the money they collect from us, are we stupid to them to give them our money and they cannot clean or collect our dirt,” she said.
The LMA embattled president Alice G. Yeebahn told FPA via phone that she could not speak to the issue.
“I left office since August 28, 2018 by the Vice President of the Republic of Liberia; I am not in office so I will not be able to tell you anything about the office because about five months and some days now I have not been able to go to my office. Moreover, I am still in court waiting for the decision from the Supreme Court,” she said.
A non-governmental organization monitoring the garbage situation in the market said the waste is posing danger to the health of the people in the area.
Charles R. Koilor of the Environment Care Initiative (ECI) said research conducted by his group shows that people are exposed to several diseases.
“When we conducted our environmental research concerning the damage the garbage has caused, we realized that people were suffering from skin diseases; people were suffering from heart problems, Asthma, TB among others illnesses,” he said.
“The Honorable Mayor has a communication in her office from ECI that the city of Paynesville is overcrowded with dirt and these people you see here today are taxpayers.”
He added that the ECI is working out modalities to file a lawsuit against PCC if the huge pile of garbage is not removed from the vicinity.
“We welcome this protest to inform the government; we will go on the streets to let the people know that the people of Paynesville and the marketers are not stupid. We are already working on documents that if the garbage is not removed we will launch a lawsuit against the PCC. This protest will continue if this garbage is not removed from the market, if the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC), Liberia Marketing Association and national government do not come to remove this dirt. If possible, we will continue at the Paynesville City Hall.”
Another Civil Society group based in the area, Citizens United for Progressive Services (CUPS) said they remain committed to a dirt free environment.
“The protest will continue until the garbage is remove from the market,” said Wuo G. Yeelelleh, Executive Director of CUPS.
“I remain committed to removing dirt from Gobachop Field, and if this dirt is not remove by whosoever that is responsible to remove it, we will remain committed to the struggle (Protest).”
Meanwhile, the city Mayor on Monday announced two new agreements the city has signed with Equipment Rental and Desire Construction and Hiring companies.
The two companies will now be responsible to assist the PCC in garbage collection but homes and businesses are required to register, according to the agreement.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Montserrado County District #5 Representative Thomas Fallah called for a clean and attractive Paynesville.
He urged the companies to be effective in making Paynesville city “fresh and clean”, describing the city as the “first city that hosts most of the prominent people in the government”.
“Our city is heavily populated and it house most of our top official including the President and the Speaker,” he said.
Representative Fallah called for a tougher action if the city must be clean.
“If anyone will be caught violating the laws of the city by wasting dirt to places not supposed to be wasted, the laws should be used against such person,” he advised.