This strategic area according to concern residents and business people has been a regular dumping site for garbage collected from other major streets across the central business district of Makeni.
On behalf of the traders, Aminata Cidifa Kamara expressed her discontent that the disposal of wastes does not only has unhealthy repercussions but a minus in their businesses as most buyers did not reach their stalls due to the smelly piles of trash in front of their business points.
She further stated that all sorts of garbage and trash including dead animals, human wastes, among others are discarded at this main business street, a situation which made their daily presence very uncomfortable.
A passerby who decided to be unmentioned compared the two recent administrations that have been on the helm of local governance at the Makeni Municipality -ie the tenure of Moses Sesay and the current regime of Sunkarie Kamara. He stated that the latter has been very proactive in managing wastes than the former. He added that the current administration had won an accolade as the cleanest city in the country in terms of solid wastes management.
Fatmata Koroma a resident of the affected surrounding uttered similar expression as Aminata Kamara. She went on to say that the garbage sometimes takes an entire week before Makeni City Council officials collect it for disposal. Because state actors are blind of their responsibilities, as a result of that many residents are evading taxes like house rates and city rates, she further explained.
In response to this development, Emmanuel Samura – Information, Communication and Education officer Makeni City Council said the waste is generated by residents and traders themselves. He further stated that almost every council collects their garbage for proper disposal. He however mentioned the challenges they face as a council in terms of transportation. Emmanuel Samura was optimistic for a proper solid waste management in Makeni when the £2.6 Million DFID sponsored project commence in their part of the country.
Makeni Main Market Road was not the only street to face this unpleasant situation; almost all major streets in the municipality of Makeni are affected in one way or the other. With this unfolding, many are with the view that the award given to Makeni City Council was never based on merit but on lip services or favouritism due to stronghold beliefs.