By William Madouk Garang
Juba City Chamber of Commerce and East Africa Go-Green have teamed up to effect hygiene promotion and work out a plan to collect waste in main markets in the City.
This comes after the Juba City Chamber of Commerce met with Go-Green company to find ways to encourage business people to cooperate for proper management of waste products harmful to human health.
Stephen Wani Aquilino, the Chairperson of Juba City Chamber of Commerce advised all business people in main markets of; Konyokonyo, Jebel, and Juba to have dustbins or garbage bags for waste disposal.
“We come together to conduct this press conference to encourage traders in Juba City to cooperate with Go-Green firm so that we can achieve our goals of keeping the city clean and green” Aquilino said.
“I ask all traders in Juba city especially Juba block, Kator block, Go-Green has already signed a contract with the government to collect waste. So, my colleagues in business community hurry up and get yourself a container or dustbin” he added.
He added that trucks will go to the markets twice a week to collect all accumulated waste and it should be kept in bags and dustbins.
On his part, Denis Okiny, the Managing Director of East Africa Go-Green said the partnership they have signed is to ensure Juba city is clean, green and safe.
Okiny said proper waste management is a three dimensional ways “the government should enforce, company collects and citizens abide to the system that is put in place”.
“JCC got a role of enforcement to play. if we do the logistic and JCC don’t do its roles it will be very difficult, then we have other responsibility of the community – hat they also have to abide with the system that has been put” Okiny said.
“For example now there are some of public places we put our public bins but still people come and put the waste down this means the system is not complete and as we said initially it’s a three-ways system whereby all parties have collective responsibilities” he continued.
He called on all stakeholders to play their roles positively in order to achieve waste management goal, adding that countries like Rwanda and Uganda succeeded because they follow their system.
“If you look at how they [Rwanda, Uganda] achieved the program of waste management it’s about having a system that is followed, it’s about system that is supported by all three different parties” he said.
“That’s the company doing the waste management, the government intuitions doing the enforcement and then citizens abiding by the process of waste management. This will help us exactly to achieve the goal of waste management” he added.
In September, Juba City Council issued an order unleashing fines to be imposed on residents and business owners who litter empty plastic bottles or dump waste along streets and in front of houses and shops.
According to local order dated September 13, 2022, any trader, institution or company found in process of littering trash along road, shall be arrested and fined with 200,000 South Sudanese pounds.
It added that individuals hired to ferry garbage and dump it in unauthorized locations, if found will be penalized with SSP 50,000, or imprisonment not exceeding two months or both.
Mayor Michael Lado Allah-Jabu said any household member apprehended shall be fined with SSP 10,000, or imprisonment for term not exceeding one month or both.
He further said, business owners that allow litter of bottles and any form of waste in front of their shops shall be detained and charged with SSP 20,000, or face imprisonment for a term not exceeding two week or both.