By Bill W. Cooper
Several marketers of the Gobachop and Red-light Market have again raised serious concerns over the continuous stockpile of garbage in the market and its environs; something they stressed has poses serious hazard to them.
As a result, the aggrieved marketers have at the same time vowed to stage a mass protestation against the leadership of the PCC and Liberia Marketing Association (LMA) if nothing is done to clear the stockpile of garbage from the market.
However, despite several of publications about the filthiness of various market places in both Paynesville and Monrovia, those cities’ Corporations seem not to be seriously impacting sanitation in the communities, as the stockpile of garbage problem still persists.
Almost everywhere ranging from the Japan Freeway to Red-Light, ELWA junction markets in the Paynesville as well as the country’s capital, Monrovia is still being affected by dirt.
According to our reporter who took a tour of the market over the weekend, Red-Light is overtaken by a stockpile of garbage which is most of the time burned with the smoke polluting the environment; something which seems to be causing respiratory infections, heart disease, and lung cancer of residents of the area.
Some marketers spoken to during the toured narrated that the huge garbage is a serious situation that the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) has refused to address for months now despite several engagement with the Corporation.
One of the marketers, Old ma Martha stated, “This garbage is affecting us greatly, we are here selling and inhaling the stench and even though we may not be affected right now, but a few years from now, who knows that we will find it difficult with health.”
“We have been to the PCC and informed them about this situation on countless occasions but to no avail. Sometimes, we buy our food and water and eat right in the garbage because we don’t know where to go and sell; this is our farm, where we find ourselves to be,” she said.
Another bitter ball seller who is affectionately called Iron lady by her colleagues said in a more frustrating tone, “We are kindly asking the PCC to please come and remove this dirt and clear this market because we are paying them for it. And this is not something that we will take likely.”
“Because if we are ill, we will not continue our hustles but if we are healthy, we will look for our daily meals. Our appeal to the Government of Liberia is to send these groups PCC, EPA, and LMA to work collectively together and remove this garbage,” she noted.
According to her, the garbage has spent over 6 months at the main entrance of the Gobachop Market, a road from Red-Light leading to the Kakata Highway and added that the stockpile of garbage is also causing traffic congestion for commuters as well in Red-Light Market.
Meanwhile, a Nigerian national who sells in Delta Pharmacy at the Red-Light, Peter Okpako stated, “Because of this garbage, traffic congestion is along the Gobachop Market; some of us have been selling here for a decade now, whether community dwellers throw dirt here or who so ever throws here, it’s PCC’s responsibility to clean the city.”
He wondered, “While it’s true that community dwellers sometimes help to increase this garbage but we the marketers do this huge garage too. But where is the parking station for the dirt we are having in Paynesville that community dwellers will waste in the garage?”
“Because I can remembered a few years ago, Heart of Lion and PCC were effective but these days, we are no longer seeing them again, and to be honest, PCC is not working because we had a serious issue that the PCC couldn’t address when CICO workers who are carrying on the road construction were hired by UCI Frozen Food to dump dirt to where we are selling. PCC has to work hard and put things in place,” he added.
He further asserted, “You will not see such a thing like this in Abuja, because Abuja is the capital city of Nigeria and Montserrado County is the capital city of Liberia. Is not good for a stockpile of garbage to be on an international road because it’s the entrance of the country.”
However, it is still unlikely that the PCC and the MCC will take serious the marketers’ concerns by addressing the situation because as reported, the PCC only bulldozer responsible for spreading garbage at the Wein Town Landfill is down and non-functional.
