By: Alimatu Kargbo
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Freetown City Council, and the Ministry of Gender and Children’s Affairs have intensified calls for collective action against plastic pollution and poor sanitation practices in Freetown, as part of efforts to protect the environment and public health.
The appeal was made during the ECOWAS Jubilee Celebration Plastic-Free Campaign and beach clean-up exercise held under the theme: “Freetown Say No to Plastic Pollution, Clean Environment, Healthy Future.”
Speaking at the event, the Resident Representative of ECOWAS, Ambassador John Azuma, emphasized the importance of maintaining a clean and healthy environment through regular sanitation and community participation.
“It is not going to be a long talk. It is going to be action through cleaning,” Ambassador Azuma told participants during the exercise.
He noted that environmental protection is directly linked to healthy living, sustainable development, and the preservation of natural resources within communities.
“When you have a healthy environment, you have a healthy body, and when you have a healthy body, you will enjoy life,” he stated.
Ambassador Azuma explained that the initiative was designed to raise public awareness about environmental cleanliness, while encouraging residents to adopt proper sanitation practices in their homes, compounds, beaches, and public spaces.
He further appealed to citizens not to treat the campaign as a one-day activity, but rather as the beginning of a continuous nationwide culture of environmental responsibility.
“It should not be a one-day exercise. We are appealing to everybody that after this, we should continue cleaning our environment, our compounds, and our beaches so that we can enjoy the life God has given us,” he added.
Also addressing the gathering, the Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs stressed that environmental degradation remains one of the country’s growing challenges, particularly due to indiscriminate dumping of plastics, rubber, and other waste materials along beaches and waterways.
“One of the key activities is awareness creation, because every day we preach about environmental degradation and the dangers affecting our country,” the Minister said. “The way people throw litter, plastics, and rubber carelessly on the beaches is very bad for the environment.”
The Minister warned that poor waste disposal not only destroys the beauty of beaches, but also negatively impacts marine life and public health.
“When plastics block the environment and waterways, even the fish are affected,” the Minister noted. “People come to the beach to relax and enjoy themselves, but if the environment is dirty, it cannot be a healthy place for anyone.”
Calling for stronger community participation, the Minister urged Sierra Leoneans to see environmental cleanliness as a shared national responsibility rather than relying solely on government intervention.
“We should not wait for government alone,” the Minister emphasized. “As citizens, we all have the responsibility to help clean our communities and protect the environment.”
Meanwhile, the Mayor of Freetown, Yvonne Aki-Sawyerr, expressed concern over the continued indiscriminate dumping of waste in drains, roadsides, beaches, and waterways across the capital.
“We all generate waste every day, but we must dispose of it properly,” Mayor Aki-Sawyerr said. “When people dump garbage carelessly in drains, along roadsides, beaches, and waterways, it eventually affects all of us.”
She urged residents to register with approved waste management service providers to ensure regular garbage collection and proper disposal of waste.
The Mayor also announced a dedicated hotline 8244 currently operating on the Orange network and expected to expand to Africell and Qcell services by the end of the week to help residents identify approved waste collectors in their communities.
“If you want to know the approved waste collectors operating in your community, call 8244 or visit the FCC website,” she stated.
Mayor Aki-Sawyerr further disclosed that the Freetown City Council will commence a two-week door-to-door public engagement campaign aimed at encouraging households to register with approved waste management providers.
According to her, sustained environmental cleanliness can only be achieved through active public participation and continuous community involvement.
“We can continue cleaning the beaches, but if people continue dumping waste indiscriminately, the problem will persist,” she emphasized. “Keeping Freetown clean is everybody’s responsibility.”
The Mayor thanked government officials, development partners, environmental stakeholders, and community volunteers for supporting the initiative and reaffirmed the council’s commitment to protecting the city’s environment and improving public health.
