Zongo Chief wants Pantang dumping site relocated

The Zongo Chief for the Pantang-Abokobi community in the Greater Accra Region, Chief Yussif Iddrisu, has appealed to the government to as a matter of urgency help relocate the rubbish dumping site in the area.

Chief Yussif Iddrisu, said even though the area is bedevilled with a lot of challenges, the greatest confronting them now is how to relocate the mountainous dumping site.

The Muslim leader made the appeal when he spoke exclusively to this reporter at his palace at Pantang on Tuesday and admitted that government has through the area’s District Chief Executive [DCE] Madam Janet Mensah, made efforts at resolving the issue but still to no avail.

Even though the government has ordered for the closure of the site but still some sanitation companies are dumping refuse at the site thereby making the area filthy in addition to the unbearable stench emanating from the rubbish.

The health of the people is at great risk as the stench and filth created may lead to the outbreak of sickness such as cholera and other infectious diseases if the canker is not tackled and resolved once and for all.

He however noted that the efforts of the DCE is not enough and therefore urged her to maximize her efforts and expedite action on how best to resolve the problem.

‘’We have engaged the District Assembly on several occasions in our quest to ensure the site is relocated but all our efforts has yielded not the desired results,’’ Chief Iddrisu disclosed.

Chief Iddrisu who is popularly known in private life as Mandingo also mentioned amongst other things education and infrastructural development as some of his priorities as the leader of the area’s Muslim community.

To that end he mentioned that his main priority is to establish more educational institutions to help train the people especially the youth within the area and surrounding communities.

‘’My aim is to help brilliant but needy students to acquire higher education which will go a long way in solving some of our problems’’.

‘’There are a lot of families within the community who have brilliant children but cannot afford to educate them to the highest educational level and my plan is to extend a helping hand to such poor and vulnerable families,”he stated.

So far Chief Iddrisu disclosed that they have established about two Islamic training centres or schools and four different places of worship [mosques] in the Pantang-Abokobi area and that plans are far advanced to achieve more for the people.

He called for unity among the people and further urged Muslims in the area to live peacefully with other religious followers in the area.

He also urged them especially the youth to be peace lovers and law abiding citizens so as to contribute their quota towards the socio-economic development of Ghana.

Chief Mandingo advised the youth to also emulate the good examples of their present leaders and be respectful, dedicated and commitment towards the development of the area.

‘’They are our future leaders and we must therefore make sure they are well prepared for the leadership task ahead of them in other not for them to be found wanting when the mantle of leadership is handed over to them in the near future,’’ Chief Yussif Iddrisu Mandigo stressed.