MCC Media Boss Reacts to Senator Amara Konneh's Assertion on City Filthiness

By: Blamo N. Toe/Contributing Writer

The MCC Director of Press and Public Affairs, Pekeleh Paye Gbuahpaye has urged Senator Amara Konneh if he is honest in his Monrovia filthiness alert, to now advocate for increased budgetary allocation towards addressing Monrovia's cleanliness and waste management challenges.

Monrovia City Corporation’s Director of Press and Public Affairs, Mr. Gbuahpaye’s comment was in a sharp response of the Gbarpolu County Senator’s Sunday, April 21, 2024 post on his official Facebook page, in which he said he is a big hip-hop music fan and not a fan of dirt.

Senator Konneh expressed a grave concern over what he termed as the accumulating garbage on Monrovia’s streets.

“Listening to Dr. Dre’s masterpiece hardcore hip-hop album ‘The Chronic’ on a 3.6-mile run in 55 minutes this morning was fun, except for the accumulating garbage on Monrovia’s streets. Yes, I am a big hip-hop music fan and not a fan of filth (dirt). “You have to decide who you are and force the world to deal with you, not with its idea of you.” Wishing you a blessed Sunday,” Senator Konneh’s post reads.

Reacting to this statement under the same post, the MCC Head of Communications initially thanked Senator Amara Konneh for acknowledging Monrovia filthiness but he termed the situation as an old age problem.

He also called on the lawmaker to importantly shift the discussion beyond just mere acknowledgment of the garbage challenges in Monrovia and delve broader into the root causes and potential remedies for effective and sustainable waste management.

“Senator, the incessant hurdles with waste management in Monrovia have persisted for years, yes, you know this very well,” the MCC Head of Press and Public Affairs noted.

According to him, Senator Konneh is cognizant that despite tons of derived waste management frameworks for effective Monrovia cleanliness, waste has not been considered a key deliverable under past administrations, even during his days as the Minister of Finance and Development-Planning.

He added that except the Gbarpolu County Senator wants to convince the public that waste has been a priority on paper but not in action.

According to Mr. Gbuahpaye, it is evident that sustainable waste management requires adequate budgetary support, which he said the Monrovia City Corporation has lacked due to various factors, including limited funding from state and non-state actors.

With this concern about Monrovia filthiness, the MCC media boss stressed that it would have been very necessary had Senator Konneh set a standard when he was the Minister of Finance under former President Ellen Madam Sirleaf that prioritizes waste management and mirrors his Monrovia filthiness alert.

“Thank God that you are now a Senator. If you are earnestly concerned about Monrovia cleanliness, you now have an unhindered opportunity to advocate for increased budget allocation towards addressing Monrovia's cleanliness and waste management challenges,” Pekeleh Paye Gbuahpaye asserted.

He emphasized that it is prudent enough for Senator Konneh to collaborate or lobby with his legislative colleagues in the 55th National Legislature, especially at the Liberian Senate to prioritize funding for waste management initiatives.

At the same time, Mr. Gbuahpaye called on the Senator to actively engage the Monrovia City Corporation (MCC) to be abreast with cardinal issues and constraints they are faced with considering his concern about Monrovia's filthiness.

He believes that working closely with MCC authorities, will make the lawmaker and members of the public to comprehensively understand the root causes of Monrovia's filthiness.

According to him, such a move can most likely lead to a more result-driven solution based on Senator Konneh’s frantic efforts coupled with his level of influence over governance architecture.

“Senator, it's imperative to know that the MCC has been making enormous efforts to keep Monrovia's streets clean despite its financial limitations, which is commendable,” the head of media at the MCC noted.

Pekeleh Paye Gbuahpaye said if the concerned lawmaker works with the MCC to proactively resolve the city's current funding gap and support its cleanliness efforts, it instrumentally improve Monrovia's overall waste management strategies and Monrovia, the City he passionately loves will be freed from filths.

“The best thing we can all do is to a-politicize waste management issues and elevate a national discussion on waste management and avoid usual Facebook criticisms that do not provide a modicum of solution,” Mr. Gbuahpaye stated.