LIBERIA: Garbage nightmare in Paynesville & Gardnersville
….The Case of Continuous Poor Sanitation in Monrovia – By: WASH R&E Network – The issue of huge pile of garbage in and around Monrovia continues to be a serious problem that calls for urgent attention.
A female marketer at the Redlight Commercial District in Paynesville speaking to a team of WASH Journalists about the garbage nightmare
Another huge pile of garbage along the Somalia Drive in Gardnersville (close to Chicken Soup Factory Junction)
Huge pile of garbage at the Redlight Commercial District
A young businessman speaks to WASH R&E Network-Liberia, as the continuous huge pile of garbage is clearly seen at the back in the Redlight Commercial District
Two popular and populated communities around Monrovia (Paynesville and Gardnersville) have been placed under the spotlight as part of on-going Exclusive Media Focus on Sanitation by the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia (WASH R&E), supported by WaterAid in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
Paynesville which pays host to Liberia’s biggest commercial district known as “Redlight” is not only congested with vehicles and pedestrians, but huge pile of garbage deposits almost everywhere. Redlight connects with several counties in Liberia that boarder Guinea and the Ivory Coast, and at the same time leads to the Freeport of Monrovia through the Township of Gardnersville to central Monrovia.
For the past months the City of Paynesville, mainly the Commercial District of Red Light has been covered with garbage that is posing serious health hazard to marketers, buyers, commuters and residents of various communities around the commercial district.
The Redlight commercial district marketers, buyers, commuters and residents have complaint of the constant failure of the Paynesville City Corporation (PCC) and some garbage collection entities to properly handle the situation.
The uncontrollable garbage in the area, according to a female marketer, referred to as Miss Joseph, has caused several of them to get sick including their children.
According to her, the garbage which has engulfed the entire market areas in Red Light is posing serious health hazard.
Several days ago over fourteen marketers who are selling right near the PCC’s “Buy Your Dirt” Site got sick and were taken to the Providence and William Booth Health Centers for treatment.
Also a male marketer only identified as David who sells scratch cards added: “the huge stock pile of garbage is causing us a big embarrassment because it has been here for too long now”.
He reported that several marketers were getting sick from the mountains of garbage spread out in Red Light and blamed PCC for not monitoring the Site and take appropriate action.
To confirm the marketers’ statement, members of the WASH Reporters and Editors Network of Liberia visited the William Booth Health Center on the Pipeline Road in Paynesville.
The Officer-In-Charge, Korpu Geh at the Health Center disclosed that most of the patients treated at the center are marketers, including their children and residents around the Red Light Commercial District.
“Look the stock pile of garbage which is considered as poor sanitary condition can cause people to get various sicknesses and that just what the marketers and residents of Red Light are faced with, Madam Geh pointed out”.
From several survey conducted by the Network within Paynesville, garbage is seen along the Somalia Drive up to the St. Francis Junction at Black Jinnah, the Pipeline Road where the garbage has overstayed for months, thus blocking the main entrance to a nearby community and at the various Gobachop Junctions including the road leading to Kakata.
A month ago, WASH R&E learned that the Paynesville City Corporation launched a project co–named “Buy Your Dirt” in the densely populated Red Light Commercial District with the aim to ensure a conducive sanitary condition in the City.
But the Superintendent of the Coal Field on the Pipeline Road in Paynesville, Kortu K. Rogers noted, “I don’t know about the project neither those marketers under my control”.
At PCC’s “Buy Your Dirt” Site, the Corporation’s Sanitation Inspector Sekou Sheriff admitted that the collection of garbage from the Redlight Commercial District in Paynesville described the delay and the over stay of garbage as a threat to a healthy environment.
Besides, the Paynesville City Corporation, two sanitation companies, Zoom Lion a Ghanaian based and N.C. Sanitor are responsible for garbage collection at the Red Light Commercial District and other areas in Paynesville.
The “Buy Your Dirt Project” was designed to reduce the huge pile of garbage in Paynesville, especially Redlight Commercial District by purchasing a bag of dirt for fifteen Liberian dollars, but the project has failed to live up to its objective.
For the Township of Gardnersville situated along the Somalia Drive, the story is almost the same with that of the Redlight Commercial District in Paynesville.
Though the various communities in Gardnersville equally suffer from huge pile of garbage leading to poor sanitary conditions, the residents and business entities like other areas prefer disposing garbage on the main street leading from Redlight to the Freeport of Monrovia.
The entire Somalia Drive route is barricaded with huge garbage at every major junction including, 72nd, Neezoe, Lonestar, Zota, St. Francis, Black Gina, Amegarshie, Steven Tolbert Estate, Chicken Soup Factory, LPRC, Barnesville Estate, Gardnerville Supermarket, and the New Georgia Estate, among other intersections leading to Liberia’s biggest seaport “Freeport of Monrovia.
Residents in these areas always complain about unhealthy environmental conditions like unfavorable odor, flies, and mosquitoes and dirty water in their respective communities.
They disclosed that delays on the part of contractors hired to take the garbage at designated sites continue to contribute to waste management crisis on the Somalia Drive route, affecting Paynesville and Gardnersville.
Zoom Lion and N.C Sanitors are the two companies contracted, but have failed to effectively perform their assigned task.
This situation has also led to garbage burning which is described as the only option by residents and others to reduce the dirt.
Meanwhile, the Gardnerville administration has described the situation as worrisome and needs urgent attention and intervention.
The Clerk of the Township speaking on behalf of the Commissioner said the local Government authority is aware of the threat and the presence of the huge pile of garbage along the Somalia Drive, but lacks the logistical support to help improve the sanitary condition in the area.
Mr. Anthony D. Sayeh named low budgetary allotment as a major factor hampering the collection of garbage in the Gardnersville Township.
When contacted, Zoon Lion and N.C Sanitors admitted of being responsible to collect garbage through their respective contracts, but promised to officially address the issue as soon as possible as all efforts are reportedly been made to re-strategize on the best way forward to tackle the issue of huge garbage across the city of Monrovia which they described as very serious.
Investigation continues with Exclusive Media Focus on sanitation by the WASH Reporters & Editors Network of Liberia, sponsored by WaterAid in Liberia and Sierra Leone.
