THE waste-littered Mataniko River in Central Honiara is an eyesore and this seemingly ignored problem has come under the spotlight on social media.
If one travels on the Mataniko Bridge by foot or vehicle, one would see the river is littered with all sorts of garbage and they clog the water lily growing along the riverside.
The garbage mainly originates from the communities living along the Mataniko River.
Other contributors to this eyesore situation are Honiara residents who chuck out their rubbish into the river and even some business houses who use the river as a last resort to get rid of their rubbish due to unreliable garbage collection in Honiara.
A concerned Honiara resident Gabie Knoxie took his concerns on this issue to Yumi TokTok Forum on facebook where he called on responsible authorities to take appropriate actions to deal with it.
Further to urging responsible authorities, including the Honiara City Council (HCC), to immediately clean up the river, Mr Knoxie suggested that the relevant authorities they come up with a long-term plan to permanently address this issue so as to ensure the cleanliness of the river.
He said while most of the rubbish originate from communities living along the Mataniko River, some come from the settlements along streams connected to the river.
Mr Knoxie said HCC should work with the communities along the Mataniko River and settlements along the streams connected to the river on a Waste Management Plan.
He said he is aware that these settlements have established their Women Associations, which could be a good platform for collaboration to address this pressing issue.
By IAN LADDS OSO
Solomon Star, Honiara
