East Ayawaso sub- metro in perspective------- Accra New Town residents calls for construction of drain
Residents of Accra New Town have called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to consider, as a matter of urgency, the construction of the big drain that runs through the community from Kotobabi.
They contend that failure to construct the drain will amount to inviting malaria and cholera epidemics.
The drain in question is filled with garbage, comprising plastic bags, empty water sachets and human waste.
The stench from the drain fills the air, making breathing an arduous task and domestic animals are seen always feasting in the drain.
A fish-smoking oven and a 'pito' joint sited close to the edge of the drain seem to be struggling for position with the rubbish thrown around.
Even though part of the drain which joins a bigger storm drain at Nima has been constructed, the bigger portion has been left unconstructed leaving room for some recalcitrant members of the community to throw their rubbish around while others have turned it into their place of convenience.
An opinion leader, Mr Gibriela Agadi, fingered members of the community, especially those living close to the drain, as being responsible for the filth that had engulfed the place.
“When you confront them, they ask you if you sleep in the gutter," he said.
He pleaded with the AMA to help construct the drain, as it was the only means of stopping the menace. "If the gutter is constructed, I am sure most of us here will be vigilant to stop people from filling it with filth," he noted
Mr Agadi said in the past young people in the community organised clean-up exercises to clear the drain of silt but they stopped because their efforts were always in vain within days.
A resident, Akosua Boahemah, blamed the situation on the non-availability of garbage bins in the community which forced people to sneak under the cover of darkness to dump their refuse in the drains.
"I do not think people will intentionally throw rubbish into the gutter, if there is a rubbish container here," she noted.
Another resident, Abena Asiedu, said her house had been invaded by mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents and some unknown bugs from the drain, a situation which had given rise to malaria and cholera cases.
As the demand for accommodation increases, some landlords in the community have converted their toilets into rooms for habitation.
For most houses in the area, not even the directive from the AMA has been successful in pushing the landlords to construct toilets in their homes.
In spite of the directive from the AMA that all households within the Accra Metropolis were to have toilet facilities by the end of September last year, the reverse is the situation.
Most houses in the area either depend on public toilets or continue to use pan latrines in spite of the ban on pan latrines.
With the heat from the AMA subsiding, some of the residents have abandoned their toilet construction.
Statistics indicate that in the East Ayawaso Sub Metro of the AMA alone, 500 of such latrines are still operational.
The Supreme Court, it has been revealed that in the East Ayawaso Sub Metro of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly alone, 500 of such latrines are still operational.
In July, 2008, the Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling, ordered the assembly to stop the use of the facility in the national capital due to its environmental and health implications.
The directive from the Supreme Court followed a writ by a coalition of human rights organisations led by an Accra-based legal practitioner, Nana Adjei Ampofo, in February, 2008.
The court also instructed the city authorities to construct 1,500 water closets and KVIPs within the period, as well as arrange subsidies for those who would convert their pan facilities into water closets or KVIPs.
Some of the residents also accused the Member of Parliament for the area, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, of reneging on his promise to get the drain constructed.
“The MP was in the area and promised all of us that the drain will be constructed but more than a year later, not even one block has been laid,” an angry resident, Joel Awuku, said.
“It is not fair the way we are treated, this is not the first time we have been told the drain will be constructed.”
When contacted, the immediate past Assembly Member for the area, Hajia Damata Sulemana, had a contrary opinion.
She pointed accusing fingers at some of the landlords in the area for neglecting their responsibility of providing basic amenities for their tenants, and the AMA for not compelling landlords to have basic amenities in their houses.
On efforts made to solve the problem, she explained that she wrote letters to The Netherlands and German embassies to source funds for the construction of the drain but was told that the embassies in question did not assist individual assembly members but rather the central government through the ministries.
According to her, even though the construction of the drain had been awarded to four different contractors, she had not been informed about it until one of her constituents drew her attention to a group of people that was clearing silt from the drain.
"The problem we have as assembly members is that the assembly does not regard us.
If I took the trouble to write to you about the problem and you award the construction to a contractor without even informing me, how do you expect me to play an effective supervisory role to prevent shoddy work?” she asked.
They contend that failure to construct the drain will amount to inviting malaria and cholera epidemics.
The drain in question is filled with garbage, comprising plastic bags, empty water sachets and human waste.
The stench from the drain fills the air, making breathing an arduous task and domestic animals are seen always feasting in the drain.
A fish-smoking oven and a 'pito' joint sited close to the edge of the drain seem to be struggling for position with the rubbish thrown around.
Even though part of the drain which joins a bigger storm drain at Nima has been constructed, the bigger portion has been left unconstructed leaving room for some recalcitrant members of the community to throw their rubbish around while others have turned it into their place of convenience.
An opinion leader, Mr Gibriela Agadi, fingered members of the community, especially those living close to the drain, as being responsible for the filth that had engulfed the place.
“When you confront them, they ask you if you sleep in the gutter," he said.
He pleaded with the AMA to help construct the drain, as it was the only means of stopping the menace. "If the gutter is constructed, I am sure most of us here will be vigilant to stop people from filling it with filth," he noted
Mr Agadi said in the past young people in the community organised clean-up exercises to clear the drain of silt but they stopped because their efforts were always in vain within days.
A resident, Akosua Boahemah, blamed the situation on the non-availability of garbage bins in the community which forced people to sneak under the cover of darkness to dump their refuse in the drains.
"I do not think people will intentionally throw rubbish into the gutter, if there is a rubbish container here," she noted.
Another resident, Abena Asiedu, said her house had been invaded by mosquitoes, cockroaches, rodents and some unknown bugs from the drain, a situation which had given rise to malaria and cholera cases.
As the demand for accommodation increases, some landlords in the community have converted their toilets into rooms for habitation.
For most houses in the area, not even the directive from the AMA has been successful in pushing the landlords to construct toilets in their homes.
In spite of the directive from the AMA that all households within the Accra Metropolis were to have toilet facilities by the end of September last year, the reverse is the situation.
Most houses in the area either depend on public toilets or continue to use pan latrines in spite of the ban on pan latrines.
With the heat from the AMA subsiding, some of the residents have abandoned their toilet construction.
Statistics indicate that in the East Ayawaso Sub Metro of the AMA alone, 500 of such latrines are still operational.
The Supreme Court, it has been revealed that in the East Ayawaso Sub Metro of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly alone, 500 of such latrines are still operational.
In July, 2008, the Supreme Court, in a landmark ruling, ordered the assembly to stop the use of the facility in the national capital due to its environmental and health implications.
The directive from the Supreme Court followed a writ by a coalition of human rights organisations led by an Accra-based legal practitioner, Nana Adjei Ampofo, in February, 2008.
The court also instructed the city authorities to construct 1,500 water closets and KVIPs within the period, as well as arrange subsidies for those who would convert their pan facilities into water closets or KVIPs.
Some of the residents also accused the Member of Parliament for the area, Dr Mustapha Ahmed, of reneging on his promise to get the drain constructed.
“The MP was in the area and promised all of us that the drain will be constructed but more than a year later, not even one block has been laid,” an angry resident, Joel Awuku, said.
“It is not fair the way we are treated, this is not the first time we have been told the drain will be constructed.”
When contacted, the immediate past Assembly Member for the area, Hajia Damata Sulemana, had a contrary opinion.
She pointed accusing fingers at some of the landlords in the area for neglecting their responsibility of providing basic amenities for their tenants, and the AMA for not compelling landlords to have basic amenities in their houses.
On efforts made to solve the problem, she explained that she wrote letters to The Netherlands and German embassies to source funds for the construction of the drain but was told that the embassies in question did not assist individual assembly members but rather the central government through the ministries.
According to her, even though the construction of the drain had been awarded to four different contractors, she had not been informed about it until one of her constituents drew her attention to a group of people that was clearing silt from the drain.
"The problem we have as assembly members is that the assembly does not regard us.
If I took the trouble to write to you about the problem and you award the construction to a contractor without even informing me, how do you expect me to play an effective supervisory role to prevent shoddy work?” she asked.
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