One of the things that is very conspicuous as you traverse most of the cities and towns in Africa is the constant presence of litter and garbage.
The stench hits you before the hillocks and mountains of plastic bottles, polythene bags and old newspapers makes you want to go blind. Flyers soil public walls and rotting matter decomposes by the side of the road. This is not just the picture from the dirty slums filled with those expelled by their poverty from the cities, but is also clear in the centre of the city itself.
What the reasons for this are I do not know, but it is clear that many people have no respect for the environment around them, and worse are apparently unaware of the detriment their actions cause to their surrounding. Picture this. A car is speeding down a highway. A window is rolled down
and a hand wantonly throws out, onto the busy highway, banana peelings
and biscuit wrappers. If the occupants of twenty different cars did the
very same thing in, say, three hours, what would be the state of the
said highway? Appalling, to say the least, but not altogether unfamiliar.
Picture all the highways in that city or town undergoing the same (in
the three hours) what a city or town that would be!
|
 In too deep
|
Worst hit by this scourge are our city estates where the absence of garbage disposal systems goes unnoticed. One wonders why this is the case, especially as the same people will probably have very high standards of cleanliness within their homes.
Few questions too many
• What is so hard about the proper disposing of garbage. Do we do the things we do because we know we should do them or can we only care for our surroundings when compelled to. Do we really 'enjoy' living in insalubrious surroundings, our public
image notwithstanding.
My opinion is that this is a typical African mindset. It is more a
'mental malady' than the lack of resources. Sometimes we throw litter
about, unknowingly (replace ‘unknowingly' with 'unconsciously' to mollify the guilt that goes with it, if you like). We were born
with this apathetic attitude to our surroundings, have been raised in it and have grown into it. If we are to extricate ourselves from this state of affairs we have
to redefine our value systems completely, caring for the public space just as much as we would our private area. It is vital too that more rigorous legislation
be put in place to put an end to this entirely deleterious
disposition. Cleaner cities and fresher air in our cities, towns and
countries must become personal missions as we all suffer from their absence, and benefit from their presence.
Oh, and a pinch of manners to boot. Let's stop throwing papers,
wrappers and peelings all over the place. Save peelings for your
farm, not for the road!
Trackback(0)
 |
TrackBack URI for this entry
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/Hide comments
. 
Show/Hide comment form
Even then, I am a witness, even in the West to this most foul habit. I think it belongs with the uncouth classes everywhere. The streets of any poor part of the world will be similarly decorated, and everyone is waiting on their neighbour to start cleaning up first.