By Jenneh Braima
For over two months now, residents of Pademba Road in western Freetown, especially those around the intersection with Campbell Street, have battled with the flow of sewage whose location, it seems, can’t be located.
Various groups of individuals and institutions like the Pademba Road Correctional Centre, the Squatters’ Camp within the PWD compound, Help Empower Polio Porsin Organization (HEPPO) and the Ministry of Works, Housing and Infrastructure are all around that area, but all of them has refused to take responsibility for the mess.
As Sierra Leone is yet to combat the Ebola outbreak, one of the key messages healthcare workers have been preaching is about cleanliness and hygiene. But with the existence of situations like this one on Pademba Road, one of the most popular and beautiful highways in the capital city, it is apparent that that message is not being received the right way.
A lot of traders, amongst them food sellers, sit and sell around this area. Many youths also go to the spot on a daily basis to play the Mercury sports betting game while for so many other people, the place is simply a meeting point to take drinks and spend time with friends
Unfortunately however, none of these people or institutions can give an explanation about the source of the sewage which has been flowing into the streets for months. Youths and traders at the junction say the mess is either coming from the prison yard or the Squatters’ Camp.
Traders have grumbled about the loss of customers because of the pungent smell emanating from it. According to Archibale Taylor and Salamatu Moseray, sellers of beverages and cooked Foo-Foo respectively, most of their customers had left them fearing getting sick.
“People only come here now to play mercury. Costumers do complain a lot but what can we do?” Moseray questioned.
Some people claimed the sewage may be from the prison yard. They said they had raised the issue with the prison authorities on many occasions but nothing had been done about the situation.
Chief Executive Sub Steward, Ministry of Works, Ramatu Kamara, said the sewage was either coming from the ‘burn house’ within PWD or the prison, but she denied it was coming from their part of the compound.
“The amputee camp has no toilet and so the sewage is coming from their part of the compound,” Kamara told Politico. She added that the amputees and other squatters normally answer to the call of nature, take their baths and do everything where they are, as they have no toilet facility.
As the Works ministry official took Politico around the compound, a little girl was seen defecating on a pile of rubbish inside the ‘burn house’. That, she Kamara, confirmed what she had been trying to explain.
But HEPPO’s Chairman, Ishmael Gborie, said they couldn’t be responsible for the mess. “I am sure it is coming from the ministry but because we are closer to them they keep pointing accusing fingers at us,” Gborie said. He however confirmed that their settlement indeed lacked toilet and water facilities.
Public Relations Officer of the Sierra Leone Correctional Services, Assistant Superintendent Mohamed Opito Jimmy, also denied the sewage was coming from the prison compound. He also pointed at the PWD compound, saying that was not the first time such an issue was coming up.
© Politico 16/04/15
