Juba city Council Cracks Down on Littering as Saturday Clean-Up Campaign Continues

By Jenifer James

The Juba City Council has warned residents against littering and vowed to enforce city by-laws as its weekly Saturday clean-up campaign enters its second week. Authorities are urging citizens to take greater responsibility for keeping the capital clean.

Juba City Mayor Christopher Sarafino Wani Swaka told journalists on Saturday that the clean-up exercise follows a declaration by Central Equatoria State Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony, designating every Saturday as a clean-up day for Juba City.

“Today marks the second Saturday, the second weekend after the declaration of His Excellency Governor Emmanuel Adil Anthony. We designate every Saturday as a clean-up day for Juba City,” Sarafino said.

He explained that the exercise runs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. every Saturday and called on citizens from all sectors to participate.

“The governor encourages all citizens of Juba to come in big numbers, from all walks of life. If you are an ordinary citizen, if you are someone responsible in the government, if you are a business person, two hours of your time does not cost that much for you to come out on Saturday,” he said.

Sarafino emphasized that community participation in the clean-up campaign would help protect public health and preserve the city’s resources.

He also urged residents to make cleanliness a daily responsibility and avoid dumping waste in public spaces.

“As much as we are encouraging people about cleaning, it is a daily activity for us. We want to especially encourage our citizens not to litter in the city,” Sarafino said.

The mayor stated that the city council recently disseminated its by-laws through media houses to ensure residents understand the regulations governing the city.

“Recently, we have released our by-laws through all the media houses so that people will understand that this city is governed by laws and regulations, and there are governance structures in place,” he said.

Sarafino confirmed that the council would begin enforcing the by-laws after raising public awareness about the regulations.

“We are going to start doing enforcement, and we know that before enforcement is done, we must enlighten the people; we must make the people aware,” he said.

He added that the Saturday clean-up campaign is also part of the council’s effort to educate residents about their responsibilities while encouraging a culture of cleanliness.

“Although they are appreciating the culture of cleaning up the city, they also have to understand that there are laws,” Sarafino said.

Meanwhile, trader James Juma expressed that traders are prepared to cooperate with the city authorities and follow the regulations aimed at keeping Juba clean.

“We are ready to cooperate with the Juba City Council and ready to obey the orders for Juba to be clean again,” Juma said.