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Momodou
Denmark
11634 Posts |
 Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 12:23:49
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Banjulians Lament Poor Sanitation
But the city’s local council is on the defensive
By Saikou Ceesay
 Some suburbs of The Gambia’s capital city Banjul remain unhygienic inspite of the monthly cleansing exercises conducted nationally and the acclaimed efficiency of the city’s local council in terms of waste management.
The streets in Tobacco Road are in poor conditions, this reporter finds-out recently on a visit. The drainage systems are not functioning and the streets are filled with stagnant water; an apparent safe haven for mosquitoes in this already mosquito infested city.
After every average downpour, the streets become impassable for vehicles and the passers-by are left with two options: to either avoid the streets or remove their shoes, fold their trousers to their knees and plunge into the dirty water. The residents are, but with one choice and that is to plunge into it in order to move in and out of their compounds.
Decayed food remains stored in plastic bags and other waste are also disposed off at almost every compound gate. Residents said these have been there for weeks waiting to be collected by BCC cleansing workers.
“Residents explain ordeal”
“Our garbage is left uncollected for two weeks now and we do not know why the council is not collecting it. We have been living in this condition for years,” decried Fatou Mbenga of Tobacco Road a densely populated suburb in Banjul.
“Look at the drainage;” said Mrs. Mbenga, the mother of seven, “it is not functioning at all. It is uncovered and a breeding ground for mosquitoes. My children are expose to malaria and other diseases as a result.”
Joseph Sambou, 56, also of Tobacco Road said the condition deserve much attention.
He said although the council has complained of inadequate tractors, the fact that waste is left scattered for over a week is unacceptable. “We are appealing to the Lord Mayor Samba Faal and the council to help us with our waste,” he added.
Laborers “not treated fairly”
 Meanwhile the laborers who empty the drainages in Banjul said the council has refused to continue paying the 20 percent salary increment that takes effect since Febuary this year.
“We have lot of constraints. We received the 20 percent salary increment for only two months and the council stopped it without explanation,” said Kemo Colley, 48, a supervisor, who has been in the job for “the past16 years.”
“We are not entitled to transport allowance and are not given a vehicle to ferry workers from Banjul to Kombo. We rely on lift; the tractor that used to commute us was seized by the council.”
He added: “We receive D1000 to D1050 monthly. We cannot buy a bag of rice from our salary after paying house rent.
“Our desire is to see the President and inform him about our situation. We feel that we are not being treated fairly by the council,” Colley said.
“BCC denies”
However, the council denied the allegation by both the residents and labourers. Dawda Johnes, the Public Relation Officer (PRO) at BCC said the laborers cannot benefit from the salary increment because they are non-staff of the council. Regarding the waste, he said BCC has 7 new tractors, 2 old ones and a compactor collecting waste regularly.
“Obviously, you know that a non staff cannot benefit from health care. Nonetheless, the council provides it to those whose illnesses are related to the work,” he said.
Tijan Bah, the head of Cleansing Service Department at BCC said tractors move to Tobacco road every two days collecting waste.
He warned the residents of Tobacco Road of throwing waste in gutters. Mr. Bah assured that the BCC is committed to keeping the city clean.
Source: Dailynews
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A clear conscience fears no accusation - proverb from Sierra Leone |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 12:58:51
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| Who is telling the facts here? I cannot tell,what the pictures do show is the truth,the road is a dump,the residents have their part to play in rubbish disposal from their houses it is unfair to blame them if ,as they say rubbish is not collected when it should be by the council,the labourers have a very dirty job to do at a very modest wage,if the 20% increase was only paid for two months then that is wrong and must be corrected,The councils spokesperson said "the laborers cannot benefit from the salary increment because they are non-staff of the council." What? nonsense !! these men do a job and because they are not "staff" are not then paid the going rate for the job,that is a stupid arguement to put forward.The BCC must get their act together and work as a council and not a shambles. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 16:49:32
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Related Bantaba Topic
Resizing the coat according to size
That a monthly salary cannot sustain a family has to do with how competently the wealth is managed and allocated. Say, the government’s number one priority is to maintain law & order. The executors of law & order must be able to sustain their families with their salaries, to be incorruptible. Consequently it would be better to have 50 substantially paid policemen than 100 underpaid and corrupted policemen. Therefore it is more of a bureaucratic inefficiency, mismanagement, than the need for an increase in wealth.
...If a civil servant gets up every morning, 30 days in the month to go to work, s/he ought to be able to feed a family of four (father, mother and two children) with the salary.
If not, the civil servant resorts to acts of corruption as a means to remedy the income shortage. How does the civil servant compensate for this “income outfall”? There are many ways. The civil servant applies different strategies in mending the shortage in the household income or the difference between the amount of work hours and wages.... |
Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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toubab1020
12306 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 19:07:47
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| Janko, I totally agree, I fear that its not that the money is not there but it is either not released or it is diverted to other uses,I despair of the way Gambia is going I really do, lessons learned NONE, quite shameful. |
"Simple is good" & I strongly dislike politics. You cannot defend the indefensible.
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 21:29:08
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Toubab 1020
it is at the same time very interesting to hear the voice of Banjulians who by and large say nothing, whatsoever. I have always wondered why they never take a distinct position in national discussions.
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Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
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turk
USA
3356 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 21:52:47
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Janko
I am not buying your efficiency argument. While it is valid argument but I think you think too much weight on it. The wealth increase is the most significant variable to improve the services and human development. How about we still have 100 police officers while we increase their salary twice. This way we don't compromise the quality of security services. You resolve the issue of corruption but now we have half less police officer to fight crime. You fix one thing but now we have lack of security officers for the crime fighting. So your solution is overrated. |
diaspora! Too many Chiefs and Very Few Indians.
Halifa Salah: PDOIS is however realistic. It is fully aware that the Gambian voters are yet to reach a level of political consciousness that they rely on to vote on the basis of Principles, policies and programmes and practices. |
Edited by - turk on 24 Aug 2010 23:12:05 |
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Janko
Gambia
1267 Posts |
Posted - 24 Aug 2010 : 22:04:49
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turk,
I show you coming, but I refer you to the link above, no need to take the same discussion in this topic. Like the mainstream Gambian political discussion where repeating arguments is a way of avoiding the real issues at hand. |
Clean your house before pointing a finger ... Never be moved by delirious Well-wishers in their ecstasy |
Edited by - Janko on 24 Aug 2010 23:47:12 |
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