Residents at Nawuma Zongo in the Bolgatanga Municipality in the Upper East Region are crying over fear of contracting diseases, as a waste container in the area has been abandoned for closed to six months.
Despite numerous calls made to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to clear the waste, the container is still left with the waste and uncovered, and serving as breeding ground for flies and other insects.
Some of the residents who could not hold their tears and anger explained to A1 Radio in Bolgatanga, that they are disappointed and surprised at the Assembly’s attitude to their plight.
Osman Atiah (not his real name), a resident, said due to the state of the waste container and the way domestic waste is damped on the ground by other residents, he and his family are now finding it difficult to stay in their house because of the stench and quantum of waste that is blown into their house by wind.
“…every day at exactly 4:00pm, I and my family always find it difficult to come out of the compound because of houseflies and mosquitoes. As for the stench from the refuse, you can’t stand it.” He said.
The Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly’s Sanitation Department had earlier said, there is no road leading to the location of the waste container and that is why it has not been cleared for a long time, but a resident, Esther Akolgo (not her real name), insisted that the claims by the Assembly is not true.
Meanwhile some other residents also accused the Assembly member of the area, Hajj Baba Razak of not helping in addressing the problem, as they do not even know him, claiming that since he was elected as an Assembly member, has never stepped foot at the section where the waste container is located in the electoral area.
But speaking with A1 Radio, the Assembly Member of the Nawuma Zongo Electoral Area, Hajj Baba Razak on phone, said some parts of the electoral area were not under him but will see to it that the issue will be solved.
He again debunked claims made by the residents that he has not be visiting the area to find out some of the problems they face.
” …to say that I have not been visiting the area and don’t care about their plight is not true. That is where I stay. My brother, how can I be in all sections of the area at the same time, or be at a place at a particular time when I have no business to do at the place?” He asked.
Meanwhile Bolgatanga Municipal Sanitation Officer, Leo Logochura, when contacted on phone explained that, the situation was terrible adding that the sanitation office has tried several times to locate a good route to the waste sits but that has been the problem, because some residents have built their houses very close to each other, thereby making it difficult for big vehicles to enter.
He however made a humble appeal to anyone within the Municipality to assist them in finding a correct route to the place so that they can go in with their vehicle to take the waste container.
Source: A1radioonline.com | Moses Apiah | Ghana
