The Managing Editor of the Inquirer Newspaper has urged the Monrovia City Mayor-designate to prioritize the rigorous cleaning of Monrovia.
Madam Winnie Saywah-Jimmy claimed that the dirt has eaten up most parts of the city and needs a real-time strategy to ensure that every major street corner and center be given special attention, noting that drainages and water ways need to be cleared of dirt for the free flow of water and unhealthy wastes.
“Since 2021, we have been calling on the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) to give attention to the dirt that was creeping in the city, but no attention was given to us. Now you see right next door to our offices on Gurley Street, feces in water is sprouting out of the drainage, which is polluting the entire community. Also, on Center Street, the dirt has covered the entire street and the burning of the stockpile of garbage right in central town is never the remedy,” Madam Jimmy said.
Describing the dirt around Monrovia and its environs as a national disaster that poses serious health hazards to residents and commuters in the city, she reiterated “If confirmed, I want the MCC Mayor to clean Monrovia as it has never been cleaned before.”
“Monrovia is actually dirty and we all know it. So, I want the cleaning up of Monrovia to top the to-do list of the MCC. But where were all this dirt in the 80s and 90s,” Madam Jimmy wondered; describing Monrovia as the dirtiest city in Africa, with criminals, dilapidating and unpainted structures occupying major communities in the city; what has gone wrong with the city ordinance?, she expressed.
The cleaning up of the city has been the concern of many residents and foreign partners alike. In December of last year, many WASH institutions, civil society organizations (CSO), as well as citizens and foreign guests, trooped various streets to clean Monrovia ahead of the January 2024 inauguration of President Joseph Boakai and his Vice president, Jeremiah Koung.
But, within two months following that auspicious ceremony, the dirt has made its way back in the streets, and in some places, residents are opening new dumpsites to the disregard of public health safety laws of Liberia.
Madam Saywah-Jimmy said, if the issue is adequately tackled, many of those residing in the city will see its tidiness and refrain from throwing dirt in any part of the city.
“People are throwing dirt every and anywhere simply because the place is dirty. Tell me, who will see the place clean and throw dirt anywhere they feel like?” She asked rhetorically.
“That is why I am stressing that he takes the cleaning up of Monrovia as a major priority. This place is the face of the country that needs to clean up to some appreciable international standards. We can’t leave our city in the hands of criminals and people living in misshaped structures and constructing all kinds of makeshift structures in our main city. If it calls for relocation of some residents and businesses to other places just to keep this place clean, I am in support; Mr, Mayor,” Madam Jimmy said. Gideon Nma Scott reports
