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Regional News of Tuesday, 28 April 2009

Source: GNA

Librarian threatens to close down Sunyani Municipal Children's Library

Sunyani(BAR), April 28, GNA - Mr Frederick Noble Baada, Brong-Ahafo Regional Librarian, has threatened to close down Sunyani Municipal Children's Library if measures were not instituted to improve the state of the facility. He gave the warning after the library suffered heavy flooding after last Tuesday's heavy rains in Sunyani, which destroyed many assorted books. Normal activities were disrupted as the library attendants had to spend more than three hours to clear the water, whilst the children waited outside. Speaking to Ghana News Agency at the library, Mr Baada said it was not the first time that the library had experienced flooding after rains and attributed the situation to leakages in the building. He said several complaints made to the management of Ghana Library Board, Sunyani Municipal Assembly and other stakeholders had not yielded any fruitful results.

Mr Baada pointed out that there was also the danger of someone being electrocuted because the electrical wiring at the library was in poor condition and it would be better the facility was closed down to ensure safety of the children and staff. He complained of limited space and security for books but said arrangements were being made to transfer most of the books, especially the new ones, to other libraries that had quality storage facilities. Mr Baada called for immediate assistance from churches, NGO's, traditional authorities and other corporate bodies to improve the situation, saying "Sunyani Municipality deserves better than this situation."

When contacted Mr Gyamfi Ameyaw, Sunyani Municipal Coordinating Director said the assembly was yet to receive any request for assistance from authorities at the library but gave the assurance of the assembly's commitment and support to solve the problems. He said floods in Sunyani were due to improper waste management therefore, the assembly would soon embark on education programmes on waste management to help curb flooding of homes and other facilities during heavy rains. Mr Ameyaw appealed to the public to desist from building at unauthorised places but adhere strictly to advice by officials of the town planning committee.