Outgoing Monrovia City Mayor, Jefferson Koijee, has, for the first time, openly admitted to his failure to tackle the country’s solid waste management crisis, falling short of sanitizing the city of Monrovia during his six years in office.
Koijee attributed his massive failure to the lack of adequate funding and equipment, something he noted greatly affected the operations of the city government in managing waste disposal.
Jefferson T. Koijee was appointed by former President George Weah in 2018 upon taking office as President of Liberia. Currently, Koijee remains the first Mayor to be confirmed by the Liberian Senate since the end of the civil war by its Committee on Internal Affairs and Good Governance.
But since his appointment to such sensitive position, Koijee has been under serious scrutiny, amidst concerns over his failure and inability to effectively tackle solid waste management in the country, precisely the City of Monrovia.
Despite efforts by international and local partners to address the issue, the city continues to grapple with mounting piles of waste, leading to environmental and health hazards for its residents.
Koijee’s leadership approach to waste management has been called to question, with several citizens expressing frustration over the lack of meaningful progress, as his failure to implement sustainable solutions has resulted in heightened public discontent.
But addressing his last press conference as Mayor of Monrovia, Koijee emphatically stated that Monrovia serves as the mirror of the country, which must be clean and green, disclosing that such can only be achieved by the collective efforts of everyone, void of politics.
He expressed serious frustration over his failure to address the menace affecting the sanitation of the city, which he stressed can only be done with adequate budgetary support, coupled with the help of international partners.
The outgoing Mayor averred, “There are challenges we did not solve. It is about cleaning the city and developing the minds of the citizens, but I can fairly say that my team and I tried our best, even though we could have done more than what we did.”
“But sadly, we couldn’t resolve the waste issue in our city because we were underfunded. And interestingly, responsible people also leave their homes to dirty the streets and, in the end, castigate our efforts, even though they contributed to the problems,” he said.
Koijee added, “The biggest problem is the fact that the city did not get the needed support. I would have loved to see that the challenge of waste management was tackled and solved by me, but it didn’t happen, and to be honest, the incoming Mayor has a great task, and I wish him/her success.”
Meanwhile, amidst the growing challenges, Koijee is encouraging the government’s would-be Mayor to prioritize an effective waste management strategy, with emphasis on recycling initiatives, waste reduction, and efficient collection and disposal systems.
As the city grapples with the malice, the incoming administration of President-elect, Joseph Boakai, faces increasing pressure to address the root causes of the problem and institute measures that will lead to tangible improvements in Monrovia’s solid waste management.
The progress in this crucial area will not only enhance the city’s livability, but also demonstrate effective governance and commitment to the well-being of its citizens as enshrined within his developmental plan.
