Gabriel Scott, the Secretary General of the Aberdeen Beach Organization, has said on Friday that, the organization lacks the tools it needs to effectively clean the Lumley/Aberdeen Beach.
According to Scott, they do not have rakes, shovel, brooms, gloves, rain boots and other necessary tools.
He also said because they lack hand gloves, the cleaning is slow, because they take extra care to heed objects that could harm them when touched with the naked hands. He added that they do not have rain boots they do not venture to the sides of the beach.
Scott added: “Lack of shelter also affect us. When it rains, we could not do the cleaning because we don’t have rain coats. Our health is much paramount.”
He also said that, there is no toilet facility at the beach which has caused people to defecate in the frontage of the beach.
Scott said that they are on a three-month contract with the Tourist Board. Which is renewed regularly, but they want the government of Sierra Leone through the Board to employ them on a permanent basis.
They clean from Monday to Friday in compliance with the terms of the contract which subsists with the Board, but “On Saturdays, we voluntarily clean the fountains, seaside and plant flower around the beach. We also do voluntary life guard on the beach, but over two decades now we are still working on contract basis with the Tourist Board. There are more than 150 members in this organization but none of us is permanent and some of us have taken over 20 years in this work,” he said.
Scott called on the government, non-governmental organisations and the Tourist Boards to provide them with the necessary materials in order to ensure effective cleaning.
By Ibrahim S. Bangura
23/09/2020. ISSUE NO: 7924