- Alfred Fornah
GOVT URGED TO RELOCATE TOXIC BOMEH DUMPSITE
Residents at the Kissy Brook, and Akram Community have called on the Government of Sierra Leone to relocate the Granville (Bomeh) Dumpsite, one of the largest and most toxic dumpsites in the east end of Freetown.
The call was made during a fact finding mission by S4CCCSL at the Dumpsite and its surrounding in order to make a first-hand assessment on the dumpsite and its neighbouring communities.
According to Mr. Mustapha Sesay, who lives in Akram, the dumpsite should be relocated because of so many serious health concerns. Mr. Sesay emphasized:
“This dumpsite is posing a serious health threat to us all, we know living near to badly manged dumpsites causes cancer, respiratory and skin diseases, so therefore it must be relocated to an isolated area in the city’’
Mohamed Alif, a community youth group leader, stressed the need to relocate the dumpsite and noted that the dumpsite also causes annual flooding in the community:
“The culvert linking Kissy Brook and another small slum community below - Bai Bureh Road Kissy Dock yard - is blocked because of the on-going work by duty trucks at the Bomeh Dumpsite.
So when it rains, the rubbish clogs the culvert, causing flooding in our community and then the rotting waste from the dump site, often as high as the highest palm, flows straight into our homes and gardens.
This is unacceptable to our community.’’
Immediately clearing the culvert would be a big help but moving the dump site to modern premises in outer Freetown would solve the problem and create good, green jobs in recycling.
Meanwhile, Government is considering plans to evacuate flood victims of the community. But the million dollar question is can government find another home for these vulnerable people?
