Vendors want ban on plastics lifted

By Tabora Bojang The new government under the leadership of president Adama Barrow should without delay reconsider the ban on the use of plastic bags in the country, said shop vendors at Latrikunda market. It could be recalled that the law that criminalized the importation, use and sale of plastic bags in the country came into effect on 1st of July 2015 during the time of ex-president Yahya Jammeh. Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Omar Barrow called on the President to lift the ban on plastics because businessmen and women are losing thousands of dalasis. “Despite the environmental hazards attached to the use of plastics, it widely serves as a source of living for not only those in the markets but also in the homes as well,” he said, adding that even women were using it to sell ice in order to reduce the burden of fish money on their husbands, He said the ban has caused them painful loss and they need the new government lift it. The National Environment Agency has said that their stance on the importation, manufacturing and the use of plastics hasn’t changed and that the ban is still in full force. Sheikh Alkinky Sanyang, an official from NEA, said they will not compromise things that can harm the environment. Sanyang said their position on “plastics remain unchanged. Anybody caught wanting will face the law. Not even Adama Barrow can change that.”]]>