By Tong Lueth Matiok, Juba, South Sudan
Sunday, September 20, 2020 (PW) — Our environment is dirtify by us when i said us this includes everyone living within the country particularly in juba whether you are citizen or foreigner, young or old, intellectuals or non intellectuals we all contribute in dirtifying our environment. If you walk around you will see almost everyone are throwing empty bottles in street even if there are trash bins around with exception of few people, but I would said 90% are doing that.
For instance, bus passengers are having this habit of throwing banana peels, empty bottles, groundnut shells, tistsali(watermelon seed’s shell) in street. Do you know how much you are contributing into dirtifying our surroundings? You will not die if you leave all this dirty stuff inside the bus. The driver will dispose them. Not only that, restaurants and tea makers are pouring dirty fishy smell water on the streets or roads which attract flies and make unpleasant smell in surrounding.
Shops and some households are pouring garbage bags into running water which end up dirtifying the other area and contaminating the River Nile directly or indirect which we entirely depend on for water.
Our people are also having habit of piling up the garbage bags in the pavements or sidewalks. I have never see that anywhere in any country. I know many people will not agree with me, but if you look from Gudele 2 all the way to Custom you will see all the garbage bags are piled up in pavements. Not to mention the body of dead animals which are left on road for cars to step on them.
The cleanness of our environment is everyone’s responsibility. We can not have clean environment by miracle. We have to work for it all of us collectively. If you see the like of Rwanda, it rank as the most cleanest country in Africa it was not God gifted to them but they have worked for it. We can also make our environment clean it doesn’t matter whether our country is developed or not we can make it clean. We would rather stay in clean tukul than dwelling in dirty mansion buildings.
I would like to call upon City Council to look onto the matter by making sure trash trucks collect waste orgarbage everyday, every shops and households should have their specific places for their garbage to be collected instead of throwing them in pavements. Restaurants and tea makers should have to stop pouring dirty smelly water on the roads.
In conclusion, Keeping our surroundings clean will only help in the betterment of society. Every household generates waste or garbage. Now, waste or garbage should not be thrown anywhere, and everywhere, but only in trash bins. Throwing garbage all over the place will only dirty our surroundings and pollute the environment.
The writer is concerned citizen Student at university of Juba, College of Natural Resources and Environmental Studies, Department of Agricultural science. He can be reached through email: tongmatiok25@gmail.com