During an episode on Go network. An extensive debate on Gaza’s air depression crises
January 25th 2022
The municipalities of the Gaza Strip and the competent authorities called for the provision of earmarked funding for the resolution of sanitation crises and the flooding of the streets affecting the Gaza Strip in its various regions, which led to the drowning of residential areas during the recent air depressions.
This came during an episode organized by GO Network, as part of a digital interactive youth community project for better LUGS’ Services, which brought together the parties involved in the sector’s crises during the winter season.
All of the Engineer Salim Safadi of the Ministry of Local Government, Dr. Tamer Salibi, Director of the Municipality of Beit Lahia, and Hassani Mohanna, spokesman for an emergency committee in the Gaza Municipality participated in the episode.
The episode conveyed citizens’ views in the Gaza Strip on the crisis, with some pointing out the problem of poor infrastructure and lack of infrastructure on the streets of the Gaza Strip, apart from the effects of the recent Israeli aggression, while others said that municipalities had not done their full duty to prepare for the depressions, which had been repeated for years.
Some citizens attributed the crisis to mismanagement, demanding realistic, logical and systematically analysed plans on the ground to have infrastructure in place to protect against future crises.
For his part, Hosni Mohanna said that Gaza Municipality has been working hard to avoid the risk of winter for residents, as a result of the aftermath of Israel’s aggression, stating that the infrastructure in Gaza City is old, and very destructive as a result of successive Israeli aggressions.
On citizens’ debate on municipal shortcomings, Mohanna said that there was a need to identify shortcomings, explaining that “there are efforts by the Gaza Municipal Emergency Committee during the depressions, before entering them”. However, there was considerable destruction as a result of the aggression, which destroyed major lines of discharge, including 50 kilometers of roads, and more than 50,000 meters of water and sanitation systems.
In turn, Salibi said that the municipality of Beit Lahiya needs infrastructure twice as much as that being done in normal with this situation, which affects the sector, stating that “in the municipality of Beit Lahiya there are 3 rainwater filtration basins.”
“The infrastructure was destroyed and targeted in Beit Lahia, above all the destruction of the filtration basins, a whole basin was targeted, in Sheikh Zayed City,” Salibi added, noting that “we live in emerging cities, the process of paving the streets affects the process of absorbing rainwater.”
While Safadi said, “What is happening makes us firmly accountable to ourselves because infrastructure is fragile and weak in Gaza,” noting that “we must have made previous plans, pre-depressions, or any crises.”
“If we are going to assess the municipalities in Gaza, the number of hotspots has fallen by 50% today, from previous years,” he said.
“The lifespan of water and sanitation systems, a large part of which has ended or is about to expire,” Safadi said, adding that “there are no sanitation systems in many places of the municipalities.”
The episode concluded with several recommendations, first and foremost the citizens’ recommendation not to dump tailings and waste on the streets, resulting in the payment of water drains and the payment of water bills owed by citizens, even if part of this invoice, so that the municipality can provide a better service to the citizen.
Participants also recommended continued full joint coordination, through the Joint Attic Committee comprising several ministries, local bodies and institutions, stressing that “the government will spare no effort to reach safety, in this crisis.”