Landlords who fail to provide toilets to be prosecuted

Koforidua (Eastern Region) 9th July '99 The New Juaben Municipality says landlords who refuse to provide toilet facilities for their tenants will be prosecuted, Mr F.K. Quist, Municipal Environmental Health Officer has warned. Meeting landlords from Betom and Sorodae suburbs of the municipality at Koforidua on Wednesday he stated that, henceforth, potential developers would be required to show plans for the provision of toilet facilities before their permits are approved.

The meeting formed part of efforts to sensitise the public about the International Development Agency (IDA)-sponsored Urban Three project, which takes up 50 per cent of the cost of constructing a water closet by a landlord. The project is aimed, among other things, at upgrading basic infrastructure and services intended for lower-income earners in 11 key medium-sized towns, including Koforidua, Ho, Wa and Sunyani.

Mr Collins Owusu, Zone Three engineer of the Urban Three projects, noted that the cost-sharing aspect of the project had hampered its success because of the inability of applicants to pay their quota of the cost. So far, he said, only 167 people at Ho, 50 at Meta and about 200 at Koforidua have benefited from the project under the zone three component.