Monrovia, Liberia’s capital, the once beautiful city that sat on the hills of Ducor and attracted many world leaders to her, now sits in an oubliette of dirt, including stool, stockpiles of garbage, damaged drainages, bad odor, as well as jammed traffics, leaving many to wonder as to whether the city will ever be clean again.
The place is now the home to many persons, who, by city standards, should not be city dwellers, including disadvantaged youths (zogos), persons suffering from insanity, some elderly homeless people, unpainted and dilapidated public and private buildings, as well as market stalls that stand on every major street corner in the city center.
Prior to the inauguration of President Boakai and his Vice president, Jeremiah Koung, many Liberians from all walks of life gathered their tools and volunteered to clean the city and parts adjacent, so as to give it a befitting look, as scores of international and friendly guests were expected to visit the country.
For three weeks, those citizens (men, women, youth and the elderly people) and even foreign partners saw it as a national duty and kept their hands in the dirt as they swept, cleared mountains of garbage, cleaned some drainages and places with huge groves of grass, disinfected some areas, and even washed some of the streets in the name of giving the city a face lift.
“It is challenging for some of us, because when we clean the garbage from one spot in the day, more dirt will be put there the following day. So, you’ll see us working at one spot for more than two to three days before going forward,” Baysah Kullie of the Siescott Sanitation Group said, noting that keeping Monrovia clean needs people who are committed to clearing the dirt from the city, as well as the institution of stern measures to enforce the required city ordinance to maintain its tidiness.
“Do you know that the city government has the power to relocate people, markets, and businesses, as well as redirect traffic? If cleaning the city would require that no one walks on Broad Street, the city government can stop people from using that street. While I believe that we, the citizens, have a national duty to clean our environment, it should be led, guarded, and enforced by the city government,” Baysah observed.
For a tailor on Benson Street, Ousman Diallo, the requisite government institutions and individuals who should lead in ensuring that Monrovia has a good face are giving little or no attention to the jobs.
He named the Liberia Water and Sewer Corporation (LWSC), the Liberia Electricity Corporation, Monrovia City Corporation, and those residing in the city center, as some of those to have reneged on their civic responsibilities, saying, “Why would LWSC be sitting on Front Street and there is pupu water all over the place? See, right here on Benson and Gurley Street, the pupu water has taken over the entire intersection. You can’t pass here without holding your nose. For the MCC, they are only interested in collecting city tax and locking people’s cars, while their Monrovia City Police is on the other side directing traffic where there are national police officers.”
“Even LEC will sit down here and see people passing all kinds of wires over houses and they won’t do anything. But, as soon as there is electrical fire, they want to ask questions on the kinds of devices you have in your house,” he argued.
He stressed that if those responsible for the upkeep of the city would see it as a national duty, they would do their job with passion and dedication.
A street food seller, Musu Fahnbulleh, said that the government should approach the cleaning up of Monrovia through various sectoral engagements, ensuring that national government takes the lead in the effort.
“I think this is beyond City Corporation. It needs the efforts of every major institution, including the Ministries of Public works, Health, Justice, Education, the media and even the offices of the President, Speaker, and Pro-tempore, while City Corporation and Water and Sewer do the handy works. Some will ask, why education? Because they and the media will lead the campaign in the schools, communities, and on their respective media platforms,” she suggested.
Musu however accused residents and businesses of being responsible for the dismal look and bad odor of the city, noting that the government should institute severe punishment for those caught throwing dirt in the streets, and also residents who are keeping their buildings and surroundings very untidy.
“Can you believe that some people in central Monrovia still pupu in plastic bags and wait for the night to put it among the dirt in the street, because, either their sewage lines are damaged or their commode system is spoiled?” she quizzed rhetorically.
Monrovia City Mayor-designate, John Charuk Siafa, promised to take a robust approach to making Monrovia a clean environment at an international standard, citing that his major priority will focus on the refacing of the nation’s capital.
“We will work with all sectors of government, as well as residents and businesses in the city, to ensure that we have a city that we all will be proud of. If it means that we will step on the toes of some people, they will have to forgive us and know that we all, as residents of this place, have a duty to perform,” Siafa said.
“We will keep doing all in our power to keep Monrovia clean, green, and safe,” he said.
When quizzed as to what will be done about street traders, car loaders, loiterers, and children selling in the streets and in between cars, the mayor in waiting said, “This is why we will work with every sector of the government, including our security people. The safety of those children is our concern. Therefore, we will ensure that street-selling children are in school and our gender team will work with their parents to have them taken from the streets,” Charuk Siafa said.
