Residents in the Tamale metropolis may have to endure and live with filthy environment for months in spite of concerns of possible cholera outbreak. Gutters in most of the communities in the metropolis are chocked up with all manner of rubbish with stench of water bodies.
Most public toilet facilities situated in the middle of houses have also been engulfed with hips of solid waste where the children use to ease themselves. This practice of open defecation is commonly termed ‘Free range’.
But, residents will have to bear with the situation because the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) says it is overwhelmed by the indiscriminate littering of the environment and continuous open defecation in the metropolis.
Planning officer for the assembly, Mr Ibrahim Alhassan who presented an overview of the developmental projects of the assembly said indiscriminate lettering of the city was a major challenged confronting them.
The assembly says inadequate funding for waste management activities and equipment is hindering their efforts to address sanitation problems in the metropolis.
At its Town Hall Meeting as part of Social Public Expenditure and Accountability Forum by ministry of local government and rural development together with NORDESO, an NGO, on Thursday residents demanded that the assembly builds fence walls around the numerous public toilets to prevent waste from being blown into homes.
This, they say, will help prevent the spread of sanitation-related diseases such cholera which has claimed many lives in the nation’s capital, Accra.
Some residents also wanted the assembly to come out clear on construction of public toilets and household latrines. According to them, the assembly seems to be focusing on building more public toilets instead of encouraging landlords to build toilets in their homes.
Responding to their concerns, the Metropolitan Chief Executive for Tamale, Hanan Abdul Rahman Gundadoo said, this year will be the last for construction of public toilets.
The mayor urged landlords to make provisions for toilets because the assembly will soon enforce its by-laws to ensure that, household latrines are constructed.
The Assembly, according to the Mayor, is liaising with an NGO which is prepared to support landlords who have seed an amount of 1,000 Ghanaian cedis.
Hon. Hanan Gundadoo also dismissed rumours that he sold a portion of Tamale Central Market to a bank. He explained that the bank and the mosque are part of the market design.
Touching on the developmental projects in the Metropolis, Hanan Gundadoo reiterated government’s commitment to the development of Tamale adding that, ongoing projects including construction and rehabilitation of markets are just but a few and assured the people to expect more.
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