US based Gambian Yankuba Jambang, has described the level of pollution in metropolitan Gambia as unacceptable, calling for carbon monoxide emission from these old diesel engines to be urgently be addressed.
“It’s killing our people. Government must urgently fix the transportation problem, roads and traffic laws ought to be enforced; streets must be cleared of auto mechanic workshops, carpentry workshops. These workshops must be in enclosed spaces, and not in open public areas,” Jambang who is on holiday in the country pointed out.
He added: “I can’t understand why the abattoir at Abuko and the livestock markets at Brikama continue to be permitted to operate in these areas. Slaughterhouses and livestock markets must be away from public areas and in enclosed areas.”
“This should have been a public health concern for the authorities. Where is the department of health? Is the President happy with visitors seeing these dirty places in the heart of the metropolis? As a senior government official — director or a minister — don’t you see anything wrong in having the slaughterhouses and livestock markets in these places?”
He stressed that as a matter of fact, livestock must not be permitted in certain parts of Brikama, Serrekunda or anywhere in the metropolitan area, noting that animal rearing must be left to the farming communities outside of our cities and towns.
