At The Waterside And On Mechlin And Front Streets
PHOTO: Petty traders and business owners react to MCC Tuesday’s cleaning exercise in Central Monrovia
By Evelyn Kpade Seagbeh
John Beyan Sumo sits flat on the stairs leading into his shop. He and other shops, storeowners, and petty traders looked on watching their clocks tick seconds and minutes after the other wishing they could fast-forward the time, but it was beyond their control.
Early morning buyers stood by looking on with uncertainty, as a yellow front-end loader collected loads of garbage and placed them into a white 12-tyles MCC truck. Tables, sticks, and pieces of strips were set as road blogs a long yellow and black rope tied ran across from right to left on light poles preventing vehicles; bikes, and tricycle cycles from driving through.
No one was allowed to put their goods outside nor open their doors of their businesses for any business transaction from the entrance of the Mechlin Street throughout the Waterside. The doors of all businesses remained closed. No one could buy or sell as City police officers and people dressed in police uniforms believed to be members of the National police helped in the enforcement.
Mechlin, Front, and Water Streets are some of Monrovia’s busiest commercial streets. Business activities start there as early as 7:30a.m, but for business owners and buyers, told FPA that Tuesday’s lockdown by the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) for a cleaning exercise came as a surprise with many describing the move as untimely and not strategic. Normal business activities were stalled for the most part on the streets and other nearby streets until 11 a.m. to almost 12 noon.
“It is a good thing for the city corporation to carry on cleaning up and that is why we have the first Saturday being used for that, so if there’s any additional day being added, we should have been informed earlier in advance with sufficient notice.
“We are business people; we pay taxes and MCC bill as well, so it was supposed to be in line with us by giving us citation earlier and long before hand. Some people (buyers) come here early in the morning and that’s how we make our morning from the morning hours to the afternoon.” John Beyan Sumo and used clothes seller told this paper.
Darlington Menyon, another business owner told this paper that he supports cleaning and having the city being kept for everyone’s safety but feared like many other that the decision for the city corporation to stall normal business activities one second busiest working day of the week was not far to business owners, buyers as well as for the country’s economy as the First Saturday major cleaning day is already fast on hand.
“We already have one major cleaning up campaign day which is the first Saturday in the month and we have just few days from now to the first Saturday. So I think it was going to be better to just wait for the first Saturday and combine the cleaning. It is very necessary to keep the city clean and we see how the streets are clean and looking good, but today’s timing was not fine at all for today.” Darlington lamented.
For other petty traders, and auction sellers who spoke to this paper stressed that if the city corporation has truly planned to tackle Monrovia’s filths and huge garbage challenges to keep the city clean, they say the Corporation could make use Sundays at which time they believe the streets are far less busy, and businesses are normally closed or suggesting that MCC could also make use of the night hours to clean the city.
The MCC’s Tuesday’s cleaning sparked mixed reactions, as noise and heated debates ensued between and among marketers, buyers, and other business owners. Others told this paper that they hold the view that twice a week major cleaning could solve Monrovia’s filths, while others think otherwise adding that the City Mayor Koijee bears the greatest responsibility to do as his predecessor (Mary Broh) did.
Other Mixed Views About MCC Tuesday’s Cleanup Exercise
“I sell bags for my living. Actually, I admired and love the way they clean the city. I really love the way our selling place is looking. The streets were actually dirty. There were plastics and papers everywhere, but presently the streets are looking unique. This is how central Monrovia is supposed to be. We the marketers and sellers are the ones creating the dirt.”
Questioned about what she makes of the timing of the cleaning exercise, Annie responded “I think the timing is perfect. Because the places were very dirty and we the same sellers sit in the dirt to sell.”
Annie Tamba
Siah Konneh another petty trader who has been involved with auction sales since 2005 shares in Annie’s Views.
“For me I suggest there be two days for cleaning because the first Saturday is already signed. Everybody in the country knows that major cleaning is first Saturday, but if we add this day (Tuesday) it will balance to make the city to be cleaner. Saturday, for us that are selling auction, we don’t have the time, we have su-su (daily saving), we have clubs to pay (yearly local savings) and for Saturday, let me not lie to you, I can just jump up and come to sell. So if there are two days set aside in the week for cleaning it will be better. Whatever God has for us for that day’s sale, we will get it.
Siah Konneh
Henry Sheriff: “It’s really embarrassing. Some people come to buy for their children especially in the morning so they can make their way home as soon as possible to be able to do other things for their families. So when they come and check and find your business center closed at the time they got in town, they will return home maybe until the following day or maybe not. One time my oldest brother left me behind the counter while he went to settle a few things about his stolen keke (tricycle). I sold from the morning hours up to 12:45 pm and I made up to three hundred US Dollars. So what now with this situation, I can’t tell what’s going to happen with our sales today.
The problem I have is with the timing. This kind of cleaning up should happen on a holiday or on a Saturday, but not on a Tuesday, such a basic working day like this.” Sherriff said an interview Tuesday Morning on Mechlin Street.”
Henry Sheriff
Audrey Paye: “I felt so happy to see the streets clean like this. It is good for the streets to be clean because when the streets are dirty, we continue to sit in the dirt to eat, and we will get sick. From the morning hours up to 11 am, what God has for me before the day ends, I must receive it. Liberia is all we have and we are Liberians so we have to make Liberia better.
When we go to other countries and we see those countries looking beautiful then we often say Liberia is dirty, and we are the ones making Liberia dirty. When the streets were dirty, it really used to make me feel bad and ashamed. Let MCC do its work.
Audrey Paye
When contacted, Monrovia City Corporation director of press, Pekeleh Gbuapaye told this paper “there was a miscommunication” blaming it on the part of the waterside market local leadership. “
“There was a miscommunication from them (the marketers) so the information was that the cleaning up exercise was only meant to clean the pile of dirt (garbage) down waterside and not the entire place. Tuesday is not a normal thing to say every Tuesday there will be a major cleaning up, no. we only did that for this week to fast-track our work.”
“We are in an emergency period so as part of that, we had to double up the work, that’s why we set aside this week Tuesday and it has no political undertone,” Pekeleh added.
The MCC’s director of communication extended apologies to the public and to businesses and business owners outside of the targeted area (Waterside) for the inconveniences the cleanup lockdown may have caused, blaming it still on miscommunication.
However, this paper could not independently verify the MCC’s Press director’s claims that the miscommunication resulted from the marketers’ local leadership.