By Tong Lueth Matiok,
Sep 21, 2020(Nyamilepedia) — Our environment is dirtified by “us” and when I said “us” this includes everyone living within the country, particularly in juba whether they are citizens or foreigners, young or old, intellectuals or non intellectuals; we are all contributing to environmental pollution within Juba and its suburbs. Whenever you walk around, you will see almost everyone throwing empty bottles in the street even if there are trash bins around with the exception of a few people but I would say 90% are doing that.
For instance, bus passengers have this habit of throwing banana peels, empty bottles, groundnut shells, tistsali(watermelon seed’s shell) in the street. Do you know how much you are contributing to dirtifying our surroundings? You will not die if you leave all this dirty stuffs inside the bus. The driver will dispose them of. Not only that, restaurants and tea makers are pouring dirty fishy smell water on the streets or roads which attract flies and make unpleasant smells in the surrounding.
Shops and some households are pouring garbage bags into running water which end up dirtifying other areas and contaminating the River Nile directly or indirectly which we entirely depend on for water.
Our people are also having this habit of piling up the garbage bags in the pavements or sidewalks. I have never seen 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 Customs you will see all the garbage bags are piled up in pavements. Not to mention the bodies of dead animals which are left on the road for cars to step on them.
The cleanness of our environment is everyone’s responsibility. We cannot have a clean environment by miracle. We have to work for it all of us collectively. When you see the likes of Rwanda ranking as the cleanest country in Africa, that did not miraculously descended from heaven but the Rwandans worked hard, day and night, to keep their city clean. 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 a clean tukul than dwelling in dirty mansions.
I would like to call upon the City Council to look into the matter by making sure trash trucks collect waste or garbage everyday, every shop and households should have their specific places for their garbage to be collected instead of throwing them in pavements. Restaurants and tea makers should stop pouring dirty smelly water on the roads.
In conclusion, Keeping our surroundings clean will only help in the betterment of our 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 pollute our surroundings and other important resources such as the Rile Nile.
The writer is concerned citizen and a 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
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