Fire fighters yesterday fought out an early morning fire at the Bakoteh dumpsite which prompted the Kanifing Municipal Council to renew its calls for shutting down of the dumpsite.
“The Kanifing Municipal Council service department was notified by Bakoteh Dumpsite Security of a fire that erupted yesterday, 27th of February at 5am in the morning at the site which grew to become a large fire spewing smoke into the Bakoteh/Manjai Community. We would like to assure the community that KMC service personnel and fire services are currently on the ground battling the flames. The fire services and water tankers association has been of tremendous support over the years and we thank them for their response,” the Council said.
“The KMC has invested heavily to minimize the health hazard that the dumpsite causes to the community by building a D8million 1.8km perimeter fence and also with the support of SOS and German government to improve the dumpsite infrastructure through the ongoing D42million BMZ project. However, as we have said several times, the Bakoteh dumpsite has served its purpose and is overdue for closure. It should not and cannot still serve as a dumpsite given that it has run out of capacity and an entire community surrounds it,” it added.
“Three years ago, we requested from Gambia Government through the Ministry of Lands and Ministry of Environment to allocate an alternate landfill and provide support for the clean-up and closure of the Bakoteh dumpsite once and for all. KMC over the years has invested heavily in waste collection and for the first time we now have the adequate fleet boasting 40 vehicles which include trucks and tractors and tricycles to carry majority of KMC’s waste to an alternate dumpsite. As we have done over the years, we continue to call on Gambia Government to prioritize this national health crisis and provide an alternative dumpsite/landfill ASAP!” the issued statement of the Council read.