By Mahmoud Sillah
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change Prof Foday Moriba Jaward has on Thursday 2nd March 2023 received the draft National Plastic Policy document from the consultant at his Wilkinson Road Office, Freetown.
Receiving the document, the Minister of Environment expressed his sincere gratitude to the consultant for putting this draft policy together that will help to control the use of plastic in Sierra Leone.
There was consultation done in all districts with validation, therefore the draft policy document is a national document which reflects the voice of the people as every district and region were given an opportunity to add their voice. He went on to state that the intention of government through his ministry is not to ban the use of plastic materials, but proper management and sustainable use of it.
He added that instead of plastic serving as a threat to humanity and environment, it would be recycling into useful product for further use. He therefore calls on private sector players to take advantage of this opportunity in making our environment healthy and conducive for human existence.
He assured the gathering that he will present this draft policy document to cabinet for approval. Also, he mentioned that 70% of debris on beach environment is plastic therefore the Ministry of Tourism and National Tourists Board are the direct beneficiaries for this policy.
Private sector players present in the meeting pledges their support towards the successful implementation of this policy for sustainable management of environment and economic growth in the country. The consultant Mr. Alieu Jalloh highlighted on the overview of the document.
He further made mentioned of the challenges they encountered during the consultation as initially there was no financial resources to undertake this project but the Minister of Environment and Climate Change Prof. Foday Moriba Jaward approach the World Bank which agreed to fund this exercise. He therefore thanked the World Bank for making this a success. He was hopeful that when this policy document is implemented fully it will address plastic pollution that is affecting all of us one way or the other.
