As a result of the challenge of the Freetown City Council to effectively contribute towards the cleaning of the city, the Freetown City Council has set up a seven man committee for each market in the city that will look at how to strengthen mechanism that will be vibrant to ensure effective cleaning of city markets devoid of the normal responsibility of the Freetown Waste Management Company. This was disclosed by Mayor Bode Gibson in an urgent meeting at council with traders from the various markets around Freetown. He told them that he was disappointed to note that some people use the market place as dwelling and rendezvous spot, thus putting additional burden on council with regards to cleaning. In this regard the city father vowed that council will ensure that those who will fall short will face the law. He told the traders that council appreciates their contribution to trade, therefore council will make all effort to respond to their needs as negotiations are ongoing with some Nigerian investors to assist council construct more markets in the city, to alleviate some of the many problems confronting them.
As a stop gap measure before the construction starts, Mayor Gibson disclosed to the market women and men that council is working to complete the Sewa Grounds Market project, which the former council administration did not complete, as this will further reduce street trading as well as the huge piles of filth on major roads and streets.
To clean the city and markets, the city father told members of the various seven man committee that council spends huge sum every month as salaries to the Freetown Waste Management Company, therefore he called on them to make it a responsibility to establish cleaning groups in order to compliment councils effort on a daily basis noting that every market environment should be conducive for both traders and the public.
Concluding Mayor Gibson touched on efforts by council to hang heads with various stake holders to finish with the clearing of rubbles at the King Jimmy site where the colonial bridge collapsed last week, in order for immediate construction work to begin on the bridge that links Wallace-Johnson street and Lightfoot-Boston street in the central business district of Freetown.
By Ade Campbell & Abibatu Kamara
August 13, 2013
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