The Banjul City Council (BCC), in demonstrating its commitment to environmental sanitation and curbing malaria, has embarked on the reactivation and rehabilitation of the drainage system in Banjul.

The exercise included the construction of drainage chanels of the main canal outlets, the excavation of gutters among others. According to Dawda Jones, the public relation officer of BCC, the objective of the initiative is to create an environmentally friendly atmosphere for the people in the capital city. The council he said, is very much concerned with the health of the Banjulians, therefore, they have embarked on this comprehensive programme to make sure that Banjul is beyond the risk of flood. He said the importance of a sound drainage system is paramount for the fact that it will ensure that the rain water flows effectively to the various outlets thereby minimising the risk of flood.

According to PRO Jones, the project is very expensive and will cost the council millions of dalasi. He said the council is a service delivery institution and not a profit making institution and rely more on rates and licenses from the people and will therefore, invest back to the people. He then appealed to the private sectors, communities, yard owners and tax payers to pay their dues to the council on time as this, he said, is always ploughed back to the community to service their needs. "We also intend to come out with an intensive sensitization campaign on good environmental practices and public health issues, involving the ward development committees, NEA and public health department," PRO Jones said.

Kartim Touray, acting municipal engineer, who is also over-seeing the cleansing services, disclosed that the initiative came after they had a proper inventory of the inner city. According to him, the drainage systems were built long ago and after sometime now, they are not functioning effectively. He said that the mayor of Banjul, Samba Faal, gave them the instructions to go ahead on to give these drainages life and to be able to function effectively. According to him, half of the drainage system in the city has now been cleared up. "It is high time for the people to stop this act of dumping waste into the gutters since there are council tractors that regularly collect waste from all homes," he said.

Pa Ma Samba Ceesay of Banjul, also expressed delight at this initiative, noting that it is a brilliant idea for BCC to come up with such.  He urged the city council to employ some people who will serve as watchdogs to report people who dump wastes on unauthorised places. Dico Jallow, also a Banjulian, said that this would help the society fight several diseases and urged the people to ensure cleanliness in their environs.