-Did FORMER PRES. SIRLEAF Lie?
Former President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf suffered a barrage of criticisms, mainly from supporters and members of the ruling Unity Party, including the Party’s standard bearer and President of Liberia, Joseph N. Boakai, for her recent assertion that Monrovia is dirty.
Madam Sirleaf speaking on a radio talk show in Monrovia bemoaned the state of the Capital, describing it as filthy and reflective of a broader failure in the governance system.
“This City is dirty,” the former President said. “I drive through it from time to time and I am ashamed,” the former President added.
Sirleaf thinks the filthiness of the City and its surrounding areas portrays a bad image of the Country to its international partners and potential investors.
“When they drive through our cities, they leave and say disparaging things about our Country,” Sirleaf further asserted, urging the relevant authorities to make practical interventions to remedy the situation.
The former President’s assertions did not go unnoticed by President Joseph Boakai, who, during a recent Cabinet Retreat, agreed that while the City is actually dirty, it is better than it was six years ago.
“Monrovia may be dirty compared to other cities, but we think it is cleaner than it used to be”, Boakai noted.
The debate comes as concerns grow over the continued filth, including human wastes, in Monrovia’s streets and communities.
Meanwhile, images captured by our reporters, who toured the City during the weekend, corroborate former President Sirleaf’s claims that Monrovia is embarrassingly dirty.
Like President Boakai, Monrovia City Mayor, John Siafa, has acknowledged the filthiness of the City, but called for more financial and logistical support.
Mayor Siafa said while the cleanliness of Monrovia is the sole prerogative of the City Government, residents also have a part to play by cleaning their environments and disposing garbage in accordance with the City ordinances.
Despite efforts by the Monrovia City Government to regulate garbage disposal, Monrovia’s streets are always littered with stockpiles of garbage, while drainages are filled with garbage, oozing out unpleasant odor that permeates the air.
Benson, Carey, Newport and McClain, Center and Gurley Streets, are noticeably the dirtiest.
