What are we waiting for? Its time for action.
Be a champion today by cleaning your surroundings and home.
It was fortnight ago that Honiara launched its clean up campaign in Honiara.
And so far are we doing enough or not at all?
Theme of the campaign is; “ Be a waste champion, reuse waste and stop litter, Iumi tugeda Klinim Hapi isles.”
This is what we as individuals should be doing now and that is be responsible and do something about our waste problem in the city.
Dealing with waste management is a challenge for Honiara city and the country.
Waste management is important for the protection of public health and natural environment.
However waste management and littering are very serious issue for the country especially Honiara.
We must be warned that if we are not careful, Honiara will become a rubbish dump.
This warning is not new.
Its time to get our acts together to make Honiara and our country one of the clean place in the pacific.
Its a challenge for this country because Honiara had been labeled as one of the dirtiest city in the region.
Its such a shame we have been tagged with this label.
The challenge now is to transform this city. And this clean up campaign is a start.
In few months time, this country will play host to a number of visitors coming into the country.
First will be the Oceania Nations Cup where most of the top national teams in the country will converge into Honiara for the OFC tournament.
Thats in June.
Then a month later its the second biggest regional event, the festival of pacific arts.
Are we prepared to host our visitors and show our city?
Our visitors will walk the streets and visit some parts of the country.
Our identity will be known to them during their two weeks stay here.
How we live and our surrounding will be will be shown just by the way our streets and homes are being kept.
As we try to showcase our culture and country we must not forget our environment and surroundings.
This is will be one of the things our visitors will take note of.
If our surroundings and streets looks dirty and filthy it would paint a bad picture of our country especially this city.
Thus, we must work hard now to achieve some changes given the remaining months.
Over the past years the country lack proactive human participation and implementation of set solid waste management guidelines that are in place to enforce.
It is now doubt the nature of rubbish bins reflects what we are eating in our homes as well as how we live.
Solomon islanders must learn to do the simple thing by throwing their rubbish in the bin.
We must prove the region wrong, that Honiara is not the dirtiest city in the Pacific.
Business houses, government ministries, NGOs, faith based organizations, communities and people of Honiara must now work together with the council to make Honiara a clean and healthy environment to live in.
This country and its people need a healthy and clean environment to have a healthy workforce.
With everyone’s support and togetherness in this waste reduction and litter campaign 2012, we can make ourselves and this country proud.
The time is here to act and give Honiara a facelift and let this city shines when we welcome our visitors.
