Keep Juba Clean and Green
By Awuol Gabriel Arok
March 10, 2018 (SSB) — Keep Juba Clean and Green” was launched in 2010 and led by the Ministry of Housing, Physical Planning and environment, DFID and UNEP with an aims of planting 1 million trees in 2010 and 2011.
The new measures put in place by Mayor of Juba City Stephen Wani Michael by erecting up police tents at hot dumping sites and corners is highly welcome and appreciated by those who are adore to hygiene and sanitation, rubbish site that was at the far corner of the University of Juba and adjacent to Sedona Hotel was a disgrace to the University and the users of University-Buluk road.
Today as one pass through that road, it has turned from its repulsive look to spotless ground which was not the case few weeks ago before the police tent was erected.
What the Mayor has done is recommendable and should be maintained and spread all over Juba with severe punishment to the violators in term of fines, such fines can be used as incentives and services money to the deployed police, businesses that are associate with high rubbish accumulation should not be along the main road if they could not properly manage dumping routines, tough law on rubbish disposal and dumping will reduce water and food poisoning.
Business owners must account for rubbishes around their business premises that initiative will pump in fear and guide everyone toward proper dumping of rubbish and for sure Juba will be clean, this matter of collecting litters by city council workers up to the shops’ doors should be discouraged, a shopkeeper must clean his/her shop and area around it and rubbish put at a certain location where the city council workers can just pick and load it into the rubbish trunks, that should be the system.
What is left is the application of the regulations set, we have everything in place; we have great planners, we have great contractors, we have great partners and generally we have great service men/women but without follow ups and implementations nothing visible can appear.
Keeping Juba clean and green has been there since 2010 but no physical progress has been achieved on that slogan, rubbish holders have been put up in market areas, residential areas, institutions and along the major road but people have been dropping litters sloppily due to absent of practical accountability and punishment..
Juba has never been green according to the slogan but without trees and proper survey a city can never be a beautiful city; peaceful populace, good infrastructural set up, good survey and trees planting along the avenues and streets is what defines a beautiful city.
Walking from the Ministries to Juba Town on foot is more comfy than covering a short distance between the University of Juba and Customs and that is due to present of huge neem trees along the Ministries’ road, Trees planting and city flowering must be one of the JCC monthly event typically during the rainy seasons.
Flowering have been tried on University-Custom and Parliament-Ministries roads but those projects yield no fruits, one may wonder what is the reason behind flowering failure in Juba City, could it be due to harsh weather or due to poor services of the contracted parties.
JCC must come up with compact policy that can enlighten and involves people at the residential areas to plant trees in their compound; set up seedlings nurseries for affordable plantlets.
JCC must invest in trees planting and come up with tough regulations on dumping thereafter, slogan of Keeping Juba Clean and Green will be realized.
Awuol Gabriel Arok, a Writer and a Poet, has a Bachelor Degree in Social and Developmental Studies from the University of Juba, South Sudan, he is the author of unpublished book ‘‘The Wisdom Horn’’ and an Initiator of ‘‘Your Tribe is My Tribe’’ and ‘‘Giving Heart Foundation’’ initiatives. He can be reached via his email Address: jjmkamzeearokson@yahoo.com
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