GBARNGA, BONG COUNTY – Residents and marketers along Broad Street in Gbarnga are raising fresh concerns over a growing mountain of garbage in the heart of the city, which they warn is putting lives and livelihoods at serious risk.
For several months now, heaps of decaying waste have taken over sections of the roadside and parts of the market, with no consistent disposal. Locals complain that the situation has unleashed unbearable odors, swarms of flies, and widespread air pollution, turning one of Gbarnga’s busiest commercial corridors into what they describe as a “disease zone.”
Community members say children, food vendors, and daily passersby are the most exposed.
One vendor, Mariam Swary, told reporters she has suffered repeated illnesses because of her constant exposure to the filth. She explained that during rainfall, floodwaters push the garbage through their stalls and into nearby homes, worsening the dangers.
“It is affecting us too much. When the rain falls, the water carries all the dirt around us. The air smells bad, and the children play around here without slippers. This place is not safe for anyone,” Swary lamented.
She appealed to local authorities to either relocate the dumpsite or construct barriers to contain it, stressing that the market is a place where food is cooked, sold, and consumed.
“We cook food in this market. The flies from the garbage come and sit on the food. People are getting sick,” she added.
Other residents and traders confirmed that the site has become a permanent hazard. They argued that while the Gbarnga City Corporation (GCC) occasionally clears trash from the main streets, the old central market area is often ignored.
“We don’t know how we are surviving here. The garbage has been dumped here for months. They only remove the dirt from the main road, but they don’t enter the market. We are begging the City Corporation to help us,” said Willie, a resident living nearby.
A City Overwhelmed by Mini Dumpsites
The Broad Street site is only one example of a wider problem. Across Gbarnga, makeshift dumpsites are springing up in neighborhoods, behind schools, and along drainage lines. With no steady garbage collection system in place, residents say they are left with no choice but to throw waste into unfenced properties and open spaces.
This has created a vicious cycle: whenever one site is cleared, another appears elsewhere. During the rainy season, the mess is amplified as floodwaters wash waste into yards, markets, and even water sources.
Many fear that unless a sustainable solution is found, Gbarnga risks becoming a city littered with trash heaps.
Sanitation Boss Responds
When contacted, Rev. John Forkpah, head of the GCC Sanitation Department, admitted the problem remains one of the city’s toughest challenges.
He explained that part of the issue stems from land disputes, with private properties left unfenced and repeatedly misused as dumpsites. Although the City Corporation has organized cleanup drives, businesses and residents often return to dump in the same locations.
“People continue to put dirt on private land because the area is not fenced. We have asked the landowners to secure their property so that garbage cannot be deposited there again,” Forkpah said.
He specifically pointed to one landowner, Mr. Porte, whose undeveloped property near the old Gbarnga Central Market has become the notorious Broad Street dumpsite. Rev. Forkpah accused him of negligence and warned that the City Corporation may be forced to take legal action if the land is not secured soon.
At the same time, Forkpah criticized some residents and vendors for directly contributing to the problem by dumping their own waste in the area.
“Keeping Gbarnga clean is not only the responsibility of the government. It is for everyone, residents, marketers, and households. If people throw garbage anywhere, we will continue to face these problems,” he cautioned.
He also admitted that limited resources and the absence of proper disposal facilities are undermining the fight against waste, but pledged stronger action with greater community involvement.
Call for Lasting Solutions
Meanwhile, residents are demanding long-term measures to end the crisis. Suggestions range from creating a regulated dumpsite outside the market to community-based initiatives where locals contribute toward regular garbage collection.
“The City Corporation should not just come and carry the garbage once in a while. They need to make a plan so that Broad Street and the market will be free from dirt,” one concerned resident suggested.
As the rains continue, many fear that the risks of disease outbreaks will only grow if urgent action is not taken to prevent what they describe as a looming “public health disaster.”
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