By Lamin Idriss Conteh (Cazorla)
President Julius Maada Bio on Tuesday commissioned 50 dump trucks donated by the Government of the Russian Federation.
The trucks, according to officials, will improve the waste management system in the country, which has posed environmental and health hazards for the country.
Speaking at the handing over ceremony of the trucks, the Ambassador of Russia to Sierra Leone and Guinea, Vadim Razumovskiy, said he was very pleased to present the trucks to the government of Sierra Leone. He added that the Russian government will continue to render its support to Sierra Leone and ensure that the bi-lateral relationship that has existed between the two countries be strengthened.
President Bio, for his part, said that a good number of people living in the capital, Freetown are burning their waste, which could lead to dangerous toxic substances polluting the air and, consequently, causing diseases. He applauded the Russian government for the support towards Sierra Leone, while admonishing relevant authorities to formulate laws and enforcement policies towards garbage disposal.
“They must be fully responsible for the safe disposal of waste generated in their communities. To that effect, I expect that local governments will generate laws and enforceable policies to guide waste disposal. Public health inspectors should be able to enforce all such policies in the interest of public health and sanitation,” he said.
He went on: “In the New Direction manifesto, we identified waste management as a key threat to national development. We further reiterated in the Medium Term National Development Plan, Cluster 3. 4, that haphazard, unsafe, and unstructured waste disposal have social, economic, and even health implications for citizens. Women, we argue, bear the greatest impact of poor waste management practices.”
President Bio then called on the citizens to stop disposing or throwing garbage in the wrong places, warning that it would cause a lot of negative impacts on themselves.
The president added that some African countries are currently transforming waste into energy, thereby helping the energy sector to function well. He assured citizens that his government is ready to work with partners in the private sectors, both locally and internationally, to implement the same and bring such technologies into Sierra Leone.
The Ambassador of Sierra Leone to Russia, Mohamed Yongawa, noted that at first it was difficult for the Russian government to do business with the embassy of Sierra Leone because of what their predecessors did in Russia. He pointed out that Sierra Leone and Russia had had a very long bi-lateral relationship since 1961. He said this was not only the help Russia has rendered, noting that they have been training Sierra Leoneans, giving scholarships to them and also assisting Sierra Leone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic with testing kits.
Yongawa assured President Bio that he will continue to do the good work and also help to influence the Russian government to support Sierra Leone with more.
Speaking at the event, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Tamba Lamina, thanked the Ambassador of Russia and his delegation for gracing the occasion. He said that as a ministry, they will ensure to put all mechanisms in place in order to maintain and secure the trucks. And he assured citizens that his ministry will ensure to do its work diligently.
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Relations, Nabela Tunis, said that Sierra Leone has not only benefitted in trade from the Russians, but also in the areas of health, agriculture, education, fishing and mining, among others.
“We are here to witness the handing over of the first 50 of 200 Garbage Trucks promised to the Government of Sierra Leone by the Government of the Russian Federation. This gift is yet another gesture of the hand of friendship that the Russian Federation has extended to us over the past 6 decades,” she said.
She assured the President that her ministry will continue to build the good relationship with international bodies and encourage them to invest in the country.
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