Back and Next - Back and NextHealth operation sandstorm
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Editorial
The latest offensive by health authorities came with shockwaves, more so for its spontaneous nature than for what it is bound to leave behind in the wake of the exercise.
Nobody in their right mind would oppose such a cleansing exercise, as it were, except maybe those it would certainly force out of business. No God-fearing person would rejoice at the down fall of another man; but if the health of the general populace is dependent on exercises of this nature, then we’d better be ready to face the consequences.
For now though, all we can say is that the move is long, long overdue, considering recent trend of proliferation of substandard food items. The actual dietary standard of the food on sale is not the main point; the condition surrounding its preparation is what strikes the nerve. The sale of roast chicken, for instance, which can be gotten at every street corner these days, represents a distressing reminder. You just have to get enough money to be able to buy a carton of chicken legs and its accompanying ingredients, and there you go.
The result is that it is no more an uncommon thing to see boys in haggard, uncongenial condition selling these foodstuffs. Come to think about it, it appears almost impossible to resist what has become a delicacy among many Gambians. But does that mean we shouldn’t do something about this potentially dangerous situation? The situation is dangerous in that it serves as a source of catastrophe in waiting.
There is every reason to believe that the health of hundreds of thousands of Gambians is at risk. And the only thing we can do about it is to put a stop to this by regulating the situation.
Certainly wecan not achieve this literarily running after street vendors; rather, concrete policies, and measures for implementation needs to be put in place. And also, it must not be an occasional exercise that only last a few days only for the old system to resurface.
The latest offensive by health authorities came with shockwaves, more so for its spontaneous nature than for what it is bound to leave behind in the wake of the exercise.
Nobody in their right mind would oppose such a cleansing exercise, as it were, except maybe those it would certainly force out of business. No God-fearing person would rejoice at the down fall of another man; but if the health of the general populace is dependent on exercises of this nature, then we’d better be ready to face the consequences.
For now though, all we can say is that the move is long, long overdue, considering recent trend of proliferation of substandard food items. The actual dietary standard of the food on sale is not the main point; the condition surrounding its preparation is what strikes the nerve. The sale of roast chicken, for instance, which can be gotten at every street corner these days, represents a distressing reminder. You just have to get enough money to be able to buy a carton of chicken legs and its accompanying ingredients, and there you go.
The result is that it is no more an uncommon thing to see boys in haggard, uncongenial condition selling these foodstuffs. Come to think about it, it appears almost impossible to resist what has become a delicacy among many Gambians. But does that mean we shouldn’t do something about this potentially dangerous situation? The situation is dangerous in that it serves as a source of catastrophe in waiting.
There is every reason to believe that the health of hundreds of thousands of Gambians is at risk. And the only thing we can do about it is to put a stop to this by regulating the situation.
Certainly wecan not achieve this literarily running after street vendors; rather, concrete policies, and measures for implementation needs to be put in place. And also, it must not be an occasional exercise that only last a few days only for the old system to resurface.
Author: DO
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