AMA to ban sachet water, if...AMA Boss

Accra, April 3, GNA - Mr Stanley Adjiri Blankson, Chief Executive of Accra of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Monday said AMA would be forced to place a temporary ban on sachet water producers if they did not help the Assembly to solve the plastic waste problem in the city. "They will force AMA to come down heavily on them " he added.

He was speaking at a press briefing after going round some parts of the city to inspect any damage yesterday's rain might caused. Mr Adjiri Blankson said the amount of plastic waste that had mounted under the gutters after the rains was "unimaginable" and causes flooding in some parts of the city.

He said sachet water producers did not care about the environment but were only interested in making money, adding, "They are the cause of our woes".

The AMA boss as part of his tour inspected the Sakumono Railway Underpass project that was being threatened by domestic waste from the residents along the railway.

He said the AMA and the Ministry of Railways, Ports and Harbours would collaborate to find sustainable measures to intercept the domestic waste from getting onto the tracks.

He also inspected drainage at the GREDA Estates in Teshie, and Tudu main lorry station, which is under renovation. At the Tudu main lorry station, Mr Blankson said about 800 million cedis was being spent on the project and it would be ready after the Easter holidays.

He gave the assurance that the people would be allowed back into the station after the completion of the work.

"We are not sacking anybody. Our vision is to change the outlook of our markets and lorry stations when we have the necessary resources" he said.

The AMA boss noted that for the assembly to increase its revenue base, it had accomplished the task of mapping out all properties that fell under the AMA jurisdiction.

He therefore gave all property owners 28 days ultimatum to check out with the sub metro or the AMA office to sort out any differences relating to their property before the new bills come out.

Mr Adjiri Blankson also registered his displeasure at recent media publications that the newly constructed Pedestrian Mall was flooded. He said the reportage was unbalanced and unfair to the AMA because the flooded area was only a little portion of the mall.

"Capitalizing on two to five percent of an entire project is unfair. AMA did a good job and deserves some praise," he said. Reacting to a question on what the AMA was doing about people in Sodom and Gomorah, he cautioned the residents that the directive of the Greater Accra Regional Commander was still valid and that, "AMA can pounce on them at anytime".