AMA prosecutes landlords about lack of toilet facilities

More than 20 house owners within the Kpeshie Sub-Metro the Accra Metropolitan Authority (AMA) are being prosecuted for failing to provide domestic toilet facilities in their houses.

They would pay a fine of not less than 700,000 cedis each if found guilty, Mr Divine Sappor, Kpeshie District Environmental Health Officer said at a forum organized by the Assemblyman for New Mantiase and the La Mansaamo Kpe at La, near Accra, on Saturday.

Mr. Sappor said the AMA's prosecution of house owners was to enforce its bye- laws on sanitation and compel them to provide such domestic toilet facilities in every home.

Mr Sappor said lack of the facilities was a grave concern to the Assembly, and stressed the need for every household to have a toilet.

He said public toilets are meant for travellers and people in transit, but it was a pity many households lack toilet facilities and had therefore, turned to the public toilets, drains as their places of convenience.

He said this puts pressure on the city's drainage disposal system, and create more environmental and health problems.

Mr Sappor said of the 1,600 cubic litres of liquid generated each day in the Accra Metropolis, the AMA had the capacity to manage only 1,000 cubic litres through an underground system, and added that the excess waste of 600 cubic metres were rather emptied by the residents at the beaches, and the drains which consequently become choked and pose further health hazards.

He called on landlords and landladies to sit up and provide toilet facilities in their households and register with the approved pan latrine contractors.

Mr Sappor said about 1500 tonnes of refuse are also produced in Accra daily.

Mr Sappor reiterated the caution to developers not to build on waterways and said the Authority would apply the full rigours of the law on recalcitrant developers.

Mr Novalis Gans-Lartey, Assemblyman, New Mantiase Electoral Area, announced that a task force would, from Monday, February 24, 2003, start pulling down all structures on all pavements in the area, as directed by the Metropolitan Chief Executive, to ensure free and uninterrupted movement of pedestrians.

He said, he personally financed the reconstruction of the La Roman Catholic Church-Nii Kpobi Tettey Tsuru Road at a cost of 2.8 million cedis, and had negotiated for the La Wizard Park drainage system, abandoned for lack of co-operation from some of the residents to start again, as well as lobbying for the construction of the Boiler Junction and road and drainage system.

He appealed to residents not to defeacate into gutters and the drains and said anyone arrested would be dealt with according to law.

Mr Eric Nii Osa Laate, Public Affairs Officer advised the people to form and register identifiable groups to access the Social Investment Fund.