A New Year, 2022, dawns!
It is normal that at such time of the year, amidst the hustle and bustle of the celebrations and parties, we aspire for things to get right in the coming 12 months.
We wish to suggest that a resolution for each and every Gambians would be to ensure that our streets and neighbourhoods or cogne as we call them here are cleaned and kept free from garbage and litter.
One need not be an itinerant or peripatetic soul to know that this country is sinking under a turf of litter and garbage. The situation is now serious enough for all of us to reflect on the way out.
One thing is certain: the urgency of litter and garbage is now such that it can no longer be seen as a task for the municipalities or for Government. It is now a national task and it is the patriotic duty of all Gambians to play their part to clean our neighborhoods. It is a duty to pay up our taxes; it is a duty to abide by Covid-19 measures, so it is a duty to set settal.
A while ago, under the quondam regime of the APRC, Saturdays were set aside for National Cleaning. It used to have a veneer of good and visible impact in some areas prone to litter such as markets. It was regimented as most things were under the dictatorship, but at least it was a national effort to keep our communities clean. When the regime fell in 2017, the set settal was discontinued because it was seen as vestige of the despot. In the euphoria that greeted the change in government in 2017, few people lamented the demise of the Saturday set settals.
But five years hence, the problem of litter and garbage and dirty streets haunt and even embarrass the sense of every good Gambian.
True there is a modicum of effort been made in some quarter to clean the streets. But it is uneven and not enough. There is filth and litter strewn about in our communities. This has health hazards that are obvious. Litter is also aesthetically repugnant. Litter and garbage do not give a good impression of our country also.
These are all the more reasons why we need concerted effort to clean the environment. All hand must be on deck. It is a national patriotic duty. No effort is too little or too low in this regard.
Our homes are normally clean each morning. Our common areas like markets and the streets too should get similar attention so that there will be a healthy continuum between our clean homes and clean streets.
This is vital for good and happy living for all the citizens of our Republic!
