Dear editor,
National setsettal day is next to nothing…To start with Government needs to invest or welcome investors in the area of integrated waste management. If this is done even the Berber shop in Fajikunda dumus can be reached and his waste collected.
Secondly, waste management education should be done on national TV in the form of demonstrations on how to do separation at source and the use of compost for biodegradable waste.
Thirdly, reliable appointments should be made by waste collecting bodies so that even if compound owners are away their waste can be reached.
Fourthly, transfer stations should be erected in designated areas for partial treatment of waste generated at household levels. This will enable reuse or recycling of the recyclables, and the rest of the waste will be finally disposed to landfills.
Finally, proper training and motivation should be made to waste management employees rather than reducing it to only the elderly and partially weak people. It should be a lucrative area where youths can gain meaningful employment through the use of advance PPEs (Personal Protective Equipments) to safeguard their health.
Landfills should be cited and located wisely, they should not be in an area with high water table or close to airports. This will result to underground water pollution and aviation accidents respectively.
If these are attained there will be no need to stop businesses twice every month on fateful Saturdays.
I rest my case!
Ousman Bah
Fajikunda
Barrow’s 100 Days in office
Dear editor,
Somehow some of us are reluctant to make comparisons between President Barrow’s administration and that of the exiled former President Jammeh simply because we voted for our new government to act and represent everything opposite of what Yahya Jammeh did or stood for.
In other words, the freedom and liberty we enjoy today are returns of hardwork and investments Gambians put up in replacing dictatorship with democracy. We are grateful that our rights have so far been respected consistent with what Gambians fought and voted for.
Yes, given the broken institutions our new government inherited including shattered financial and energy sectors, we cannot expect miracles overnight, however, I don’t think our expectations are unreasonably too high.
Gauging the government’s 100 days in office and strictly giving it a grade C+ (although many legitimately argue for B) is not to ridicule the new administration’s efforts or to diminish its achievements but it is a way to remind my government of the collective desire of a beleaguered citizenry yearning for fresh starts and new direction.
When a nation like ours that has suffered too much and for far too long in all its spheres at the whims of a bloody tyrant is finally free, the natural and urgent priorities/responses of the citizens become the need for accelerated recovery and growth to compensate for the lost times and missed opportunities. This is what we are experiencing.
By electing politicians to take on monumental tasks of making life and death decisions on our behalf, we expect them to to exercise focus and seriousness on the job. This is why we give Presidents and cabinet ministers extra privileges and rights over average person including the provision of free housing, 24 hours security protection, free traffic passages and even allocation of clothing allowances.
Considering the 11,000 sqkm size of our country and the pace of its health, ecomonic, education and infrastructural growth, we can argue that both the First and Second republics have failed Gambians with the latter going steps further to cause lasting damage to our human resource pool.
Governing a nation is complex and requires participation and cooperation from all of us but the Third Republic is not going to be business as usual. We expect/want/need President Barrow to succeed where Presidents Jawara and Jammeh have failed/let us down.
Thus, since campaigning is different from governing, we call on our new government, President Barrow in particular as the Chief Executive Officer
and the Commander-in Chief of the Gambia Armed Forces, to come before the nation and share with us his strategy/vision for the country or the blueprint that will guide his administration through the Third Republic.
Zakaria Kemo Conteh
Queens, USA
