As part of sanitizing the beach from marine pollution which is in tandem with the Ministry’s mandate on ensuring protection of Sierra Leones’s natural resources, the Minister of Environment, Prof Foday M. Jaward has admonished pedestrians and business people, who are persistent in polluting the touristic beach sites at Lumley and Aberdeen to desist.
In line with this, he made a clarion called for people to inculcate the idea of dumping plastic trash in designated garbage locations along the beach areas. The Hon. Minister whilst making his brief statement to protect the touristic beach areas from plastic pollutions, intimated that it is the responsibility of all stakeholders within the environment sector to protect the beach from marine pollution. He noted that sometimes most of the plastic wastes which are being found on the beach sites are due to erosion and flooding from far distant places.
Consequently, he noted that most of the plastic wastes that are being dumped in drainages are key factors that cause flooding which normally leave people homeless and lot of properties destroyed. He confirmed that there has been no massive flooding for the past two years in Freetown, hence appealed to all stakeholders to show strong commitment in protecting Sierra Leone’s natural resources from marine pollutions. Sequel to this, Prof Jaward clarified that his Ministry is working on plastic policy for cabinet approval. He maintained that the said policy seeks to ensure various beaches in Sierra Leone become more attractive to tourists travelling from overseas.
However, the cleaning exercise was done alongside Environment Protection Agency (EPA), NPAA, Tourist Board, Fisheries and other Stakeholders in the environment sector.
