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The African Star

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Women complain of restrictions during operation cleanup

Women who participated in a recent campaign to clean up the environment have complained that they were disenchanted with the whole exercise, despite “wholeheartedly participating in it.”

They complained that they were barred from going to the market in the morning, which is their normal routine.

“In normal circumstances, the cleansing should not stop us from doing other activities,” one resident said, while another said it was a violation of freedom of movement. The women said that the operation would have been better if people were left to move freely.

“Most of our activities were disrupted,” one woman complained.

Environmental sanitation is not only about keeping our surroundings squeaky clean but also upping the standard of health in the country.

The campaign was launched in the bid to promote a neat and comfortable living environment. The president, in collaboration with the department of state for health, declared April 10 as the beginning of the monthly Operation Clean the Nation exercise.

This exercise takes place every first and last Saturday of each month. Women all over the country came out in droves to answer the president’s call. In most part of the kombos and some part of the rural areas, women along with the vice President Madame Isatou Njie Saidy were divided into groups and using brooms and rakes they have been cleaning their surroundings.

They swept clean the streets of Churchill’s Town, Serrekunda, Banjul and Bulok, Barra, Kiang, which are part of the rural areas.

Speaking to this reporter who made a tour on the day, Mariama Njie, a resident of Barra said the cleaning exercise is a good thing because it will free the environment from insects or flies which will again prevent them from diseases like malaria.

“By cleaning our environment clean, we will stay healthy,” she said..

Ramatoulie Jobe, a resident of Serrekunda said her group cleaned their houses and surroundings, adding that the exercise was one of its kind as the length and breadth of the country now donned a new look, with sewage systems flowing freely.

But some women complained that after all the hard labour, there were insufficient KMC vehicles to dispose of the rubbish. Most women alleged that KMC failed to provide enough vehicles to collect the waste from their communities, which made the women burn the rubbish.

“The cleaning would have been better than this if the rubbish or waste was disposed of. We had to burn down the rubbish at our street junctions due to a shortage of vehicles and that is hazardous to our health,” one woman, Binta complained..

The village heads of some rural areas urged the President and the minister of health the need for an overview of this policy to meet the needs of the populace. Other women also appealed to the initiators of this policy to free market vendors and housewives to buy and sell at the markets.

“If we do not eat, how can we be strong to do the work?“

Meanwhile, the mayor of KMC and the President could not be reached for their reactions up to press time.