CEMENCO Booked, Cow Factory, Others Next

By R Joyclyn Wea

As the joint Presidential Task Force to clean Monrovia ahead of Liberia’s 171 Independence kick starts its work, several business entities risk receiving the wrath of the City Government of Monrovia and partners.

The Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) which is the lead agency to clean the city of Monrovia and its surroundings is being heavily backed by its former Acting Mayor,  now General Services Agency (GSA) Director General, Madam Mary T. Broh.

As part of the start of cleaning up activities in Monrovia, the team visited the Somalia Drive route to the Freeport of Monrovia considered the ‘Gate Way’ to the Liberian Economy.

During the tour, the task force encountered the challenging and un-environmental friendly surroundings of Liberia’s cement producing giant, CEMENCO which the city corporation of Monrovia described as an embarrassment for the city.

The statement was made Saturday, July 07, 2018 when the joint task force visited and toured the facility of the company with drainages around it clogged with waste as a result of poor management.

The MCC was making direct reference to unhygienic condition that greets anyone who goes closer to the company as no one can bear to stand in the direction of the company for even five minute without holding their nose.

There is poor sanitation and waste management practices at the company something which allegedly put the health of people in the area at risk.

The situation is likely to cause health crisis if nothing is done to speedily address the illegal disposal of waste in the area as discovered by the MCC.

The current state of affairs at the facility has forced the Monrovia City Corporation to take a stand against the management of CEMENCO.

Mayor Jefferson Tamba Kojjie’s description comes as a result of failure on the part of the leading cement producing company in Liberia to address huge piles of dirts at the company’s facility along the Somalia Drive Stockton Creek route.

Kojjie asserted that the company is generating millions of dollars from the country but yet fails to attend to the sanitation issues at the facility and nearby communities at the detriment of persons in her operation area or community.

The MCC boss has meanwhile threatened to come down hard on the company if it fails to clean the facility and nearby areas as of Saturday, July 7, 2018 to Monday, July 9, 2018.

Kojjie further emphasizes the need for Liberians especially community dwellers to take charge of developmental initiatives in the country by joining the campaign to clean their various communities and surroundings noting that collective efforts is required to make Monrovia a clean and green city.

At the same time,  Mayor Kojjie has given directive to Cow Factory, Premier Milling Crops and other adjacent businesses as a warming signal to have their business centers cleaned up as strong actions would be taken against individuals or business operators who fail to adhere to the MCC’s mandate.

Speaking with reporters during the tour, the management of CEMENCO through it Supervisor for Contractors Peter Chie confirmed MCC assertion and promised to work up modalities to have the area cleaned up.

He explained that the company on numerous occasions clean the drainage, but people in the nearby communities are the ones using the area for dump site saying, “It is an embarrassment to the country but, CEMENCO is not the one who puts the dirts there but rather community dwellers.”

Chie further disclosed that as part of measures to avoid dumping of waste at the facility and drainages along the area, management has reached a decision to fence the entire area.

Critics wondered as to why the MCC boss would make such statement against the company when in fact there are huge piles observed at various points in Monrovia.

They wondered as to whether the government (MCC) too is also an embarrassment to the city on grounds that it is their responsibilities to take waste of the streets and put in place proper sanitation and waste management system to save the environment for all.

According to them, government must firstly have the will power to manage waste in the city and its environs.

Meanwhile, the Somalia Red-Light route was a scene of attraction when the joint special Presidential Taskforce along with the Bureau of Corrections at the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) as part of the exercise to clean up Monrovia, Paynesville cities and nearby communities.

The exercise further affected Doe Community, Cow Factory, Premier Milling Crops and other adjacent areas along the Somalia Drive Road.

During the exercise, inmates from the Monrovia Central Prison were brought out by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) through the Bureau of Corrections to aid the cleaning up exercises.

They were later taken back to the Monrovia Central Prison (south beach) as part of routine activities.