Francis Asaare Akolbila, an assemblyman representing the Yikene Electoral Area in the Upper East Region, expressed grave concern about the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly’s apparent lack of concern for the condition of the nearby public cemetery. About ten years after the original carers passed away or retired, it is claimed that the Assembly neglected to hire new carers for the facility.
Mr. Akolbila, who spoke on A1 Radio’s Day Break Upper East Show, explained that the absence of caretakers allowed the perpetration of nefarious activities.
“The Bolga Assembly has not been fair to us with regard to the cemetery. People can come there at any time and do what they want. When they are digging, whether they are up to the right depth or not, they dig and bury. You can imagine the COVID-19 era. When people died of COVID, they were brought to my community to be buried. Who supervises the burials? The assembly should get people stationed there to be able to monitor the activities.”
Apart from the locals who offer their services to help dig graves, Mr. Akolbila stated that there are no officials in charge of overseeing operations at the cemetery. The assemblyman argues that the fact that the cemetery’s boundaries are still unclear makes the situation even worse.
When these concerns were put before the MCE Bolgatanga, Rex Asanga, by A1 Radio’s Mark Smith on the Day Break Upper East Show, he mentioned that the Assembly’s attention had been drawn to the concerns.
“These are issues that have been discussed. He, the assemblymen [Mr. Akolbila], is a part of the committee [physical planning committee] and there have been recommendations that the sanitation department of the assembly engage someone to be in charge,” he said.
Additionally, the physical planning committee, according to the MCE, Rex Asanga, is expected to re-demarcate the public cemetery as much of the land has already been encroached on by private residents.
“The fact of the matter is that where it ends is no longer relevant because the cemetery area has been heavily encroached. Most of the houses that are along the road there are all part of the cemetery, if you look at the map. People have built on the land, so we should probably look at salvaging what is left.”
On the lack of lighting in the area, Mr. Asanga explained that processes are ongoing to ensure that the cemetery is properly lit soon.
Source: A1radioonline.com|101.1MHz|Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith|Ghana
