Waste management has been a perennial problem in The Gambia. Successive governments have tried to resolve the issue with different degrees of success, failures – and perhaps commitment.
The Bakoteh Dumpsite and other places have been eyesores for long.
The Kanifing Municipal Council has been talking of finding ways of solving the problem for long as it has serious health implications for residents but to no avail.
These dumpsites cause a lot of difficulties and challenges for the residents of those places in which they are located.
This is a well-known problem which should be addressed as soon as possible.
It is the duty of the government, through the local government, to provide cleansing services to ensure that the environment is clean and healthy. In order to do this and other services, the inhabitants of the areas are required to pay taxes which will be used to do those services.
Since coming into office, the current leadership of the Kanifing Municipal Council has made tremendous strides in ensuring that they serve the communities well. Not long ago, they inaugurated one hundred and twenty-three trucks which are meant to collect and dispose of waste in the communities.
The Council has laid out plans as to how this should be done. It is said that for every bag of waste collected, the citizens should pay an amount of ten dalasis. This money will be used to maintain the trucks so that they will last long and serve the purpose for which they were acquired.
However, some citizens are of the view that this will amount to double taxation as they already pay taxes to the KMC to deliver a certain service. If therefore they are to pay ten dalasis for their waste to be collected then they would have paid twice.
The issue is a complex one and the leadership of the Kanifing Municipal Council should endeavor to explain this to the people and make them aware of how they came to take that decision.
The key to solving this problem is communication. Let them communicate with the people who voted them into office.
