Something is indeed rotten in some of our local government bodies. Garbage collection and effective waste disposal is a duty owed to ratepayers by these institutions. Huge garbage piles, mounting by the day, have become an increasingly common sight on our highways these days. Metropolitan highways too are not spared of this massive garbage eyesore. The nauseated observer is compelled to wonder whether our local government organizations are now in an advanced stage of inner paralysis and decay.

Port-Louis, which was once rated as a garden city by foreign visitors, is no longer bathed in idyllic effulgence. Nor does it breathe the wholeness for which it was reputed. On the contrary, parts of Port-Louis could be considered as pregnant with disease and other epidemics on account of the mounting garbage menace. The Municipal Council would, of course, have ready explanations for this stomach-turning crisis but delayed action in clearing our bins and dumps could in no way be condoned. It is a question of having a sense of priorities.

To single out one of those garbage spots, let us, for instance, look at the degrading scene of the canal bridge between two long strips of lanes namely Barbeau and Eliacin Francois in the midst of Port-Louis. People keep dumping all sorts of garbage, old tyres, and dead pets in the canal without consideration for residents nearby as well as a bakery, adjacent to the canal. Today this canal is a breeding place for mosquitoes, blue-bottle flies and rats. This is unacceptable and yet nothing is being done about it.

The collection and disposal of garbage should top the lists of our local authorities on account of its serious health implications. Nothing should be allowed to get in the way of our local government institutions in carrying out this crucial duty.

On the other hand, we do not believe that the collection and disposal of garbage should involve both local authorities and private organizations. This has proved a flawed experiment because civic responsibilities need to be handled by local government bodies manned by people?s representatives who advocate public interest. Private organizations are wholly responsible to their proprietors whose interests rarely go beyond raking in a fat profit.

Besides, manpower should not prove a problem in a country plagued by unemployment. What the local authorities ought to do is avail themselves of this substantial reservoir of unused manpower. A degree of drive by the institutions concerned would do the job. Meanwhile, it is interesting to note that most Mauritians are far from having a strong environmental awareness. Contamination may be all around them but they could not care less. A very pitiable condition to be in, one may say.

The central government should constantly monitor the local government bodies, which at times are playing truant on the garbage crisis. However, an energized drive should also be launched to jolt the public out of its slumberous insensitivity to environmental problems. Cleanliness, it must be remembered, is next to godliness.