FOPA Cultural Village in East Honiara is left with massive litter after the three-day celebration of Malaita Province’s Second Appointed Day, raising serious concerns over who should be responsible to clear the mess.
The litter which mainly consist of plastic bottles, empty soft drink cans, food wrappers and more, paint a bad picture of the organizers and members of the Honiara Malaita community who partook in the event.
Jemimah Guna, who resides next to FOPA and paid $500 in fees to the event organizer for selling food and drinks during the celebration, expressed surprise at why the event organizers failed to ensure a cleanup of the venue at the close of the celebration.
“There are over a hundred stalls that they collect fees from, and they didn’t even inform us whether we are responsible for our own mess. But I believe the $500 fee I paid covers everything, including cleaning up our own mess here. It’s the event organizer who is culpable for the negligence in cleaning up after the festivities.”
“It seems that those responsible are not doing their job and are not following HCC environmental protocols for such a big event to ensure adequate management protocols were in place during the celebration.
“This is not a new issue in Honiara but it needs to be stopped. Immediate cleanup needs to be implemented with long-term solutions for effective waste management practices in Honiara and beyond,” Ms Guna said.
The mess left at FOPA raises many questions over who should be responsible to clear the mess, which has already caused foul smell to the nearby residents and those passing by the venue.
By JIMMY NOLAN
Solomon Star Honiara
