By Mamadi Jallow, Serre-Kunda

In a bid to improve the ailing environmental sanitation in the Kanifing Municipality, the Julbrew company yesterday extended financial help to the Municipality, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Julbrew has donated D1 Million dalasis to the KMC, which was first channeled through President Jammeh. The President in turn handed the money to the newly elected KMC Mayor Yankuba Colley.

Julbrew had decided to chip in to bailout the Council from the current piles of uncollected garbage scattered around the Municipality. President Jammeh himself is a living witness to the current refuse problem faced by Council. There is rubbish everywhere around the KMC.

Concerned by the ailing environmental sanitation, the Banjul Breweries, known as Julbrew, decided to extend helping hand to the cash trapped KMC.

KMC collects huge amount of taxes on a daily basis, but such collection of public funds, has so far not yielded any dividend to the locality. Tax payers are at the receiving end, as they are faced by poor environmental sanitation.

Corrupt KMC officials usually line up their pockets with funds meant for Council development. Officials are living beyond their means, as this is clearly manifested in the type of cars, they drive and houses they live in. The officials salaries cannot afford them such luxurious houses and cars.

Corrupt KMC officials owned mutiple cars, houses and other properties within the Greater Banjul Area. Their source of income is yet to be disclosed to the public, let alone their employers-The Gambian state.

Interestingly, the new Mayor Yankuba Colley, is the poorest amongst his staffers, yet these corrupt officials can openly brag about their riches before him.

President Jammeh would be surprised to learn that Colley could not even afford a Tobaski ram this year and was among the 227 needy Muslims, who benefited from Businessman Momodou Turo Darboe's Tobaski gift to the nation.

Mr. Colley, could have equally dip his hands into the KMC coffers, but yet he is exercing humility and content. What's disturbing though is that his silence over the endemic corruption at the Council. These young Council workers are owning fleet of cars and properties. They should be investigated. How come that they are richer than the Mayor, who is by all indications is  well paid than them?

This piece is not meant to appease the Mayor or President Jammeh, but it is a statment of fact. Until his election, Colley never owns a car. He was being given ride by his close friend Momodou Turo Darboe. Darboe, we are told single- handedly funded Colley's election campaign.

What's needed now, is a total clean up at the KMC. Lets corrupt officials account for their deeds. It's about time for the new Mayor to help bring economic sanity and accountability at the KMC.These gifts should be judiciously managed. It should not go into the drains.

The Julbrew funds are expected to be used to further beef up efforts spearheaded by the Council to keep the locality clean. The few corrupted Council staff need to be weeded out if the President’s clean the nation slogan is to go by. These KMC officials had little or nor regard for community development, but pursuing their own selfish interest.

Already, the Council had secured some machines to clean the environment. With the Julbrew funds now added to their ailing budget, the community expect nothing more, or nothing less from the KMC. They said they want a clean and safe environment. No more pocketing of public funds.

The deplorable environmental sanitation in KMC, has left many residents sick. Many are currently nursing malaria, constant stomach pain and fever.

Stagnant waters, and uncollected refuse are sources of mosquitoes. Many residents are worried about the poor sanitation in their neighborhood. They called on the KMC to dispatch their workers to help clean piles of rubbish in their respective areas.

In the Kanifing area, for example, even when they put a watch man to see that the place is properly guarded, some women who killed their newly born babies dumped them there and are hardly seen by the watchman. Baby dumping is a common phenomenon in The Gambia. Many teenagers dumped their new born babies.

Due to financial uncertainty and parental pressure, many pregnant teenagers resort to dumping their babies after delivery. Parents often condemned such kids for having babies outside wedlock.

Residents are at the moment in peace, even with the dirty materials scattered near their houses and around street corners. Street corners are not very pleasant because that is where garbage is dumped.

Mr. Manga, a refuse collector said the refuse is so plenty and scattered that they are often scared to pick them up. "People should now start packing their garbage together for us to pick them up." Where these garbage are packed in a special position, it is left there and produces very unhealthy stench to everybody's disappointment. When the One Million Dalasis was given to the Council, the KMC Mayor was delighted. He and other people went to the West Field Football Park, where the famous dust bin is piled like a hill. Machines and people worked on it but it soon came back after two days, because it was not well done and the people are not trained enough to put their garbage in one position.” he said.

Whatever the case, the people, the Council and the money should find their way to clearing the mess in the Kanifing Municipality or else the people will continue to live in a mess. The rainy season is the worst of it all, which is not too far from away. Burning the dust bins have cause more harm than good, the Council is now challenged to clear the areas near residence first before we applause them.

Despite operation clean the nation's enforcement, the place remains dirty. The operation should be revisited as many people sleep or do their own thing and later dump their dirt around their houses because there is no truck stationed to help them out.