Juba City Mayor, Flora Gabriel Modi and other officials joined residents of Hai Cinema on Wednesday, October 18, 2023, in collecting garbage in the area. Photo credit: Charles Wote/Eye Radio.

Some residents of Hai Cinema and Gabat in Juba have reported an improved garbage collection system, but the authorities say people are yet to change their attitudes towards waste disposal.

According to the residents, there is a weekly collection of waste in their area better than in previous years.

“We used to stay just like that because there was no collection of garbage but now there is routine collection and the area is clean and we are happy about it.” Elizabeth Kennedy, a resident of Hai Gabat told Eye Radio in an interview.

Another Hai Gabat resident, Lino Makana says “We are happy now because there was no specific place for dumping the garbage before but Juba City Council has intervened to collect the garbage, we are okay now, Hai Gabat is clean not like how it used to be.”

On Wednesday, the city authorities renewed an appeal to the residents of Juba to change their attitudes as it embarked on a new round of waste management campaign to keep Juba City clean.

The Keep Juba Clean Campaign launched on 18^th October 2023 was led by City Link Africa, a private company contracted to keep Juba’s blocks clean.

In August, Juba City Council contracted four private companies including the City Link Africa which it assigned to take the lead in keeping Juba block clean.

Other companies include Teka assigned to Kator, Mangalawi takes Munuki and Presume assigned to ensure the custom market is kept clean and green.

40-year-old Flora John Taban, a resident of Hai Cenima said she expects the city authorities to create more awareness of good hygiene practices in the area.

“We want more awareness on how people can maintain their surroundings clean, eat clean food and we are also appealing to our new Mayor to continue with this initiative in ensuring there is no garbage left uncollected in the residential areas.” She said.

The mother of eight adds that she also expects the City Link Africa, a company tasked to keep the area clean to collect the remaining heaps of garbage in the neighborhood.

“There are still heaps of garbage especially around the market area so we want them to arrange and collect these heaps,” Flora said.  

Meanwhile, Juba City Mayor, Flora Gabriel Modi says the city council is going to strengthen its level of awareness to encourage the local population to refrain from bad hygiene practices.

She adds that the city council is going to engage the chamber of commerce to ensure the markets in the city are kept clean.

“Cleaning is not only for us it is for everybody and it is for our health.” The mayor told the media at Hai Cinema on Wednesday. 

“We are going to have mechanisms to keep Juba clean and we have started now with the companies and we are following up with them, we are going to work with the chamber of commerce then we will see how to deal with that.” 

“We are going to start with awareness, we will start by telling people that this is not a good habit and we are going to involve everybody even we are going to tell the shops, the houses nearby the roadside they have to see 2 or 1 meter from their house to clean and to keep it even the street.” She added.     

Juba City Council said they have introduced a fee of 2000 pounds to be paid by households monthly in order to facilitate the collection of garbage.

Mayor Flora said her office will work closely with City Link Africa and other companies contracted to ensure Juba is kept clean and green.

“We are going to make a site whereby all the waste will be there then the company will come and take it.”

“I appreciate the company, City Link I want the City Link to cooperate and all the citizens of Juba block as we have started the campaign now, we want Juba to be clean.”

“We are going to have awareness every week so that they have to collect the waste and I need the quarter council to be serious in taking this role because without them, we cannot do anything.”

City Link Africa works closely with the Juba Block administration and the quarter council where a megaphone is used to sensitize the residents on proper disposal and garbage collection in the area.

The company said they have a total of 40 workers attached to the public health department of Juba block with ten trucks that are capable of collecting garbage and making part of the city look clean.

Stephen Lomude, Chief Executive Officer of the company called for cooperation between the local population and City Link Africa to ensure their area is neat and clean.

“We will work hand in hand with the people to make sure that this waste is collected,” Lomude said during an interview with Eye Radio. 

“We just need the cooperation from the people. Nobody should bring the waste because I was hearing people should bring on the street, no waste is not supposed to be dropped on the street.”

“The philosophy of our company is no waste should be dropped on the street. We have the days that we will come and pick up the waste from your house, so the campaign today is officially launched next week we will come to the same area, and we will make sure that we nock everybody’s door through the quarter council, they will be announcing that our truck is coming.” He added.      

Victor Ladu, a chief of Hai Gabat in Juba says the new waste management campaign launched by Juba City Council and City Link Africa has reduced the level of garbage in his area.

“We are happy about this general cleaning campaign; the truck is coming to our area every week and this is better than the previous one so we are happy with this general cleaning.”

“Before, there was no collection of garbage what we however want is to let them continue with this campaign so that the area will be clean, we are really very happy with their work.”

In September 2022, Juba City Council issued a penalty for reckless individuals randomly throwing plastic bottles or disposing of garbage on the streets citing that they would risk paying a fine of up to 200,000 pounds.

The City Council has often called on the public to dispose of the waste responsibly.

“I am calling upon our citizens to commit themselves to segregate the waste so that it can be easier for the company to collect it but the attitudes of our people and behaviour is the one causing all these difficulties.” Said Michael Francis, director of Juba block.

According to him, keeping Juba clean requires a change of attitudes and awareness to enable people to keep their surroundings clean.

The local official adds that there is a need to introduce new measures including fines to discourage people from dumping waste in any place.

“They don’t listen, they don’t understand they only understand by action, and severe punishment that is why all the times we used to issue orders.” 

“We have been fining some of our citizens with mini amounts but this one they don’t understand, we may improve by saying pay 50,000 pounds so that the 50,000 pounds for her or him to pay as a fine will be very difficult for him to get so that we deter them from making all these mistakes.” He stressed.   

To keep its capital city, Kigali, clean, Rwanda implemented various measures such as banning plastic bags, organizing regular communal clean-up days, and implementing strict sanitation policies. 

Rwanda took this step in 2008 to tackle environmental pollution and maintain cleanliness in the country.

In 2017, South Sudan joined other countries in the region to ban the importation and use of plastic bags in a bid to protect the land and riverways against non-biodegradability.

Experts say proper waste management helps to protect the environment by reducing pollution and preventing the release of harmful substances into the soil, water, and air.

Others believe that effective waste management can best be achieved by recycling and reusing materials, which helps to conserve natural resources.

“The issue of garbage in the area is really a challenge because if this garbage is dumped and is not collected, it would be very difficult.” Bennet Wani, Chairperson of Hai Cinema quarter council said.

Wani said some people prefer to dispose of the waste into the stream which he believes is polluting the river and the environment.

He is therefore encouraging the local population to take the lead in the proper disposal of the waste to prevent and minimize risks of possible disease outbreaks.

“Sometimes our children in the area like dumping the waste into the stream and once dumped into the stream it will be taken to the river and affect the waterways and sometimes and sometimes will bring a lot of sickness.”

“My people if you can eat at your house, why cannot you properly dispose of the waste, the garbage is collected at 2000 pounds only just reserve that 2000 pounds a month which is good for your garbage to be collected.” He said.    

For his part, the Deputy Mayor for Environment and Waste Management warned the local population against dumping the garbage on the roadside.

Emmanuel Juma Diyo says the city council and City Link Africa are going to work collectively to ensure there is no garbage on the streets in Juba.

“We do not want garbage to be dumped on the main road, garbage must be collected from houses or picking points in the area and it is the job of the area chiefs because the main roads have movement of people so it is wrong to dump garbage in the main roads.” 

“I urge all area chiefs of Juba Block that dumping garbage on main roads is not allowed we will be working hand in hand with City Link and will be in charge of collecting garbage because we do not want to see garbage in the main roads of Juba Block”. The Juba city official said.