Dakar water channel poses potential health hazard
A water channel running through the centre of the bustling Senegalese capital, Dakar, may have been intended as a public recreation area and amenity, but the reality is different.
Dakar - Knee-level rubbish and stagnant water mean the channel, known locally as Canal 4, is generally considered to be a large, open sewer, and potentially poses a health hazard.
“I don't understand how the government can ignore such a dangerous, and yes, disgusting problem,” said El Hadj Toure, a resident of Guele Tapee, a neighbourhood split down the middle by the channel. “How could they have just built an open sewer here?”
The filth in the 23km channel has been largely ignored by the government, 13 years after the channel's renovation. Residents living near Canal 4 blame its current state on government incompetence and indifference, while experts and officials agree that local apathy has played a large role.
Read the full article
