By Hassan I. Conteh

Clean Up Australia is an initiated started since 1989 in Australia.

The same could well be for Sierra Leone.

But let’s Clean Up Freetown first, the main capital before we expand the idea to the provinces.

Why don’t we clean up the streets of the capital Freetown which is always dirty?

In the dry season, Freetown is always dirt. The worse is seen in the wet season like now July.

June, July and August bring heavy rains.

Like in other similar days, after a night rain of Sunday 9 July, 2023, one could see small pieces of papers, cans and bottles, cartons, plastics, all over, in most parts in Freetown and Waterloo, Western Area Rural.

Other months like May, September and October are also worrisome.

Because they equally cause severe disasters as they often bring down rooftops and buildings, causing the loss of people’s lives.

Sierra Leone, in these periods, are always worried especially those living in shanty slums.

The capital’s streets become so dirty that they make it unfit for people.

Those who sell on the streets don’t throw the dirt into some dustbin tanks.

The traders don’t show little care for our streets and respect for others who hate to see spillage of rubbish. This is bad for investors and foreign diplomats.

The dirt is seen almost everywhere whenever little or big rains pour.

The small number of Clean Salone guys can’t do all the work to get our city clean.

They don’t have the necessary equipment to do the task and they are paid less by business people.

Freetown City Council’s men are not seen regularly these days doing their job.

One private worker, who gets paid for collecting the rubbish from people’s compounds, explains why Freetown is always dirty.

“City Council doesn’t have many vehicles and men to regularly clean the entire city,” he explained.

What happens to the few trucks own by council? I asked him.

Mohamed says they don’t get repaired sooner they get breaks up.

By observation, there are no ‘dustbin tanks’ put along the streets to dispose of the dirt.

Like Australia, Kenya and other countries in the world, they make sure that dustbin tanks are on major streets points.

And, governments in those places take the issue of pollution and contamination very seriously.

Kenya, for example, is one of the countries in Africa which seriously treats the reckless use of plastic by Kenyans.

Kenyan government is finding ways such as reserving land fill sites where rubbish could be emptied out.

This way, the cities remain clean always as people breathe with fresh air.

Can we as Sierra Leoneans imbibe the good habit of always disposing of our dirt in a responsible way ?

The business people can do more by placing dustbin rubber tanks with lids on the side they are doing the business.

The council will come around to collect it or the private waste collectors will do that.

If government doesn’t provide the necessary equipment, there should be some amount of sacrifice be done by ordinary Sierra Leoneans.

Must people in other countries are making huge sacrifices in most aspects in their home countries.

We can also do the same as Sierra Leoneans. But the central government and the local government have a key role to play in this regard.

They must not only make laws but enforce them on people.

Can Sierra Leoneans take seriously the Saturday Cleaning?

Sierra Leoneans’ Saturday cleaning event, introduced in 1992, now being stopped, should have now been a culture for every Sierra Leonean.

In other words, people by now need not be chased out or arrested for carelessly throwing away waste on the streets or leave it to rot in their homes, compounds, and work places.

Clean Up Australia event is well respected by Australians.

And it makes it a culture for Australians to be keeping the country clean.

Clean UP Australia became a world’s event which saw other countries doing the same like Australians.

The event which has a specific period normally attracts volunteers who help clean Australia.

Most people take part in the country’s cleaning exercise and they don’t get paid for doing such activity.

As Sierra Leoneans we can help protect the environment by doing lot of sacrifices as people.

But such efforts must be supported by the government by treating the threats on environment very seriously.