Even after the signing of the Anti-littering Bill by the president of the Republic and the ensuing national debate on the significance of such legislation, the pattern of deception by enemies of progress remains unabated.

As if the pictures we all saw together on GRTS about frustrated residents worried about their well-being in the face of a series of intruding, illegal dump sites were not enough to touch the soul of these callous saboteurs.
 
What on earth will it take to do away with a destructive few bent on engaging on inclinations that threatens the peace of a majority? This question is for KMC and NEA.   

It is near impossibility to come across a single element that disapproves the bill signed by the president. In fact, the bill is a reflection of the will of the people, as it is their elected representatives who passed it into legislation. One is compelled to wonder why, in the face of all the talking and promises made by KMC and its NEA counterpart, not a single prosecution has taken place (as far as we know!), yet there are loads of evidences of illegal dumping and littering.

Well, as to who has the mandate to prosecute an offender among the two, we can not quite tell. But we are abundantly certain that both NEA and any of the municipal or local council authorities are largely responsible to safeguard a law concerning the health of the people in their region. In other words, they can instigate the prosecution of an offender. And since in this case our focus is on KMC, the subjects are naturally the latter and NEA. This is why we want an explanation from them, as to why not a single prosecution has been done.

Through our Roving Lens, we have a lot of evidence for the inspector general of police about acts directly contradicting this very bill. We happen to have come across some contractor who claimed to have gotten what he referred to as a contractual agreement with KMC to fill in portholes on the roads. That sounds quite interesting, as all his worn-out equipments were dumped on the road, making it all the more inaccessible.  
 
We have reiterated the need for collaboration among the entire populace to root out this irritating phenomenon, hence our resoluteness on the issue. You can imagine how we feel when we have seen all what had happened. It is within our power to help curb the situation.

We strongly accept, as we have indicated time and again, that the issue calls for urgent response and that in so doing we need strong and formidable leadership at all levels. In that regard, we harbor great admiration for the people of KMC for their choice of leadership. "Operation Clean the Municipality" is indeed quite timely.  Mayor Yankuba Colley and his team of wonderful men and women need to be commended for this laudable move.   

We re-emphasise that we harbor not a grain of doubt that this exercise, if the mayor's resolve continues to receive the support it needs, will bear fruit. However, there are one or two issues that need to be reconsidered in the meantime.

This idea of curbing indiscriminate dumping is incredible. But don't we think also that the idea of placing rubbish bins at select places sounds better conceived than KMC having to go from door to door, collecting rubbish? The latter idea sounds relieving for the people, but it certainly won't take long before people start to dump their rubbishes in some dark, quite corners, which will take us back to square one. There is no policing system in the world that can stop that. Having to collect containers from selected places, and on a daily basis, is by far more reliable, sustainable, and economical for KMC.

People will have little interest in dumping indiscriminately if they have designated places to do so in dignity and in comfort.

Cleanliness is undoubtedly a virtue and it should be encouraged. Cleanliness is traditionally associated with good health, tidiness, and purity. We at the Daily Observer fully support "Operation Clean the Municipality"