BUJUMBURA, January 7th (ABP) – Some localities in the city of Bujumbura are faced with insalubrity, despite the efforts of the authorities to raise awareness among local administrative staff of the need for cleanliness, ABP was told on Friday, January 3, 2025, at the Cotebu market in the urban commune of Ntahangwa in the Ngagara zone.
Indeed, some localities, such as the Cotebu market, have piles of rubbish emitting nauseating odors. Garbage dumps have been overrun, and the rubbish is scattered right down to the pedestrians’ parallels. Some shopkeepers have revealed that that rubbish used to be cleared, but that the situation has suddenly changed, without knowing why.
As for the fruit buyers and passengers we met on site, they said that that market receives a lot of goods from all over the country, and that there is still a lot of rubbish, whereas that market should be kept clean. What’s more, they fear that that situation could lead to diseases caused by dirty hands. They are therefore calling on the market’s management to do everything in its power to ensure that the rubbish is removed as soon as possible.
The market’s superintendent, Abbas, pointed out that it’s difficult to keep the place totally clean, due to the large amount of waste coming from both rural and urban areas. However, he reassured us that the agents in charge of cleanliness are working body and soul to keep that environment clean, despite the fuel shortage which seems to be hampering the process. Abbas also mentioned the limited space available for waste disposal, despite the large quantity of waste to be disposed of.