By Hajaratu Kalokoh
Residents in a section of Aberdeen have expressed concern over a liquid waste spilling around the Aberdeen Roundabout, which they say has created an eyesore and poses public health threat.
The situation which has gone on for over a year is believed to be caused by two business entities nearby: Delicious Hyper Market supermarket and Home Suits Hotel. The liquid appears to originate from the compounds housing both facilities.
Residents who spoke to Politico about it expressed dismay that the situation has persisted despite the knowledge of relevant local and national authorities.
The Aberdeen Roundabout is the main intersection which links the community, a prominent touristic area, to the rest of the city from both the west end and from the city center. The road towards the extreme west end passes through one of the country’s most important beaches - Aberdeen Beach.
The community people believe that the liquid is generated mostly by domestic waste from the supermarket and the hotel, from where it oozes down the street and constantly flooding a part of the road leading to the Roundabout.
Sulaiman Bangura, a concerned resident, said the supermarket has not made any serious effort to fix the problem, despite efforts by the community members to have them do something.
Delicious Hyper Market is exactly located at the face of the Roundabout with much of the water oozing down from its backyard.
“Many people have fallen in the water, properties like phones as well. And we have complained several times, but no serious effort has been made,” said Bangura, who is the chairman of the traders in the area.
“In Sierra Leone, demonstration is the only thing that will solve some problems. For instance, if the community people demonstrate against these institutions, then that’s the time government will immediately intervene,” Bangura lamented.
Two weeks of effort by Politico to get both Delicious Hyper Market and Home Suits Hotel to respond to the accusations failed. Officials of both institutions dodged our requests for interviews.
Abdul Karim Bangura, the Councilor of Ward 433, where the businesses area located, has been at the forefront of efforts to resolve the issue. Bangura expressed frustration at the apparent refusal of the management of the two businesses to act on the issue, despite their repeated complaints. He said that it had taken two seasons since the water started settling.
“The water has odour and this is a touristic area. Yet the institutions involved have not made any serious commitment towards the problem,” he told Politico.
Councilor Bangura added that his frustration has been exacerbated by the failure of the local authorities, citing in particular the Sierra Leone Roads Authority (SLRA) and the Freetown City Council (FCC), to do something about the situation.
“I have been to SLRA to have an engagement with them but since then we have not seen them,” Bangura said, adding that even though a visit to the FCC led to the Council sending engineers to look at the situation, nothing has happened since then.
“Even when we did that flood mitigation, we cleared the place to reduce the water from the street, it did not work,” the Councilor added, referring to the FFC’s flood mitigation program.
The stagnant water is already a breeding ground for mosquitoes, leaving the inhabitants prone to the deadly Malaria disease.
The water is also an eyesore in a pristine touristic community like Aberdeen.
The locals fear that the situation can only get worse as the country is going through the rainy season, which has already led to deadly flooding in part of the capital city.
FCC’s Media Relations Officer, Koma Hassan Kamara told Politico that they cannot do much because the stagnating water is mostly an engineering problem.
“In the area of drainage, SLRA has a lot to do with it, because they are the technical people and the engineers; they understand about drainages, how to construct and do maintenance on drainages,” Kamara said.
She added: “The reason we intervene on that situation is because we know the water is inconvenient for people and we are responsible for sanitation in the municipality.”
An elderly woman who did not want her named mentioned in this report said she had personally written to SLRA twice about the problem but that the Authority did not respond to her.
“I hope the authorities in charge will treat this problem with immediate utmost seriousness because this is not hygienic,” she lamented.
The SLRA also didn’t get back to Politico for comment.
© 2019 Politico Online
