By Cyril Barnes, Information Officer, Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Hon Tamba Lamina, together with his Deputy and the Mayor of Freetown, has inspected the construction of improved solid waste sites in Freetown.
The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the progress of the seven ‘improved solid waste sites’ that were under construction. The project, which is funded by the Department for International Development (DfID), is aimed at redefining the management of solid waste disposal by providing communities with proper waste disposal methods for the protection of the environment and the promotion of good health.
After assessing the various sites, each comprising a temporary waste storage building with two office spaces, toilet facilities, and tricycle tracks, the Minister thanked the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) for coming to the aid of the people of Sierra Leone by providing the Freetown City Council (FCC) with improved solid waste sites in the form of transfer stations within the capital city.
He added that proper solid waste disposal had been one of the major challenges facing communities within the Freetown Municipality. The minister also emphasised the need to follow structural and constitutional procedures to ease coordination and smooth implementation.
"Applications have been made to the Environment Protection Agency, the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Health and Sanitation for the proper running of those waste sites, and progress has been made in that regard”, the minister revealed.
Minister Tamba Lamina also reaffirmed *“the fullest support of the MLGRD and the Central Government to the various Councils across the country in making sure that development is decentralized in every sector”*.
Her Worship the Mayor, Yvonne Aki-Sawyer described the project as a community-based development initiative, which was one of the numerous projects to transform Freetown. She added that the FCC and CRS engaged the various community stakeholders at Macauley Street and Cline Town and said that those contacted played a commendable role in the construction of the transfer stations.
Out of a total of seven sites under construction, the delegation visited the New England, Macauley Street, and Cline Town transfer stations as work continues on all sites.
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