Momodou B. Sarr, the executive director of the National Environment Agency (NEA), has said that preliminary assessments by his agency have confirmed that massive volumes of uncollected household waste have been observed at illicit dump sites and within the communities. 

According to him, this October's Operation Clean the Nation exercise will therefore demand significant resources to remove these huge volumes of uncollected waste as swiftly as possible.

Mr Sarr revealed that the next operation is scheduled to take place on Saturday, 25th October, 2008.
 
"You may all recall that this important monthly exercise had to be postponed for two months as the dates fell within the Holy Month of Ramadan," he said.

In light of the above, Mr Sarr added that the National Environment Agency is launching a very strong appeal to the private sector, parastatals, government institutions and the general public to support the coming exercise in kind or cash. The exercise is meant to rid our beloved nation of the huge uncollected dump heaps, which are a serious health hazard, an eyesore and could even hurt the image of our beloved nation.

He said that individuals and organisations who are willing to contribute in any form to the success of the coming exercise can contact the National Environment Agency on the following numbers: 4224867, 4224868, 4224869 and 4228056.  "We hope that the commendable corporate responsibility amply demonstrated by Banjul Breweries Company Ltd, which provided D1,000,000 (one million dalasis) to procure cleansing tools, fuel and other forms of support to improve sanitation within the KMC area, will be emulated by other major private sector actors," he said.

According to him, a special acknowledgement of all contributions will be published in all the major mass media after the end of the exercise.

"Due to the importance of the coming exercise to the health and well-being of every individual living in our nation, the NEA, in collaboration with The Gambia Police Force, will be extremely vigilant in limiting the movement of vehicles on the day of the exercise. Only essential public services will be issued with vehicle permits. However, diplomatic vehicles are exempted from movement restrictions.

"The NEA craves the indulgence of all inhabitants, citizens or foreigners alike, to participate in the next exercise and make this day a success by ridding our beloved nation of the serious threat to the health of every individual," he concluded.