Oguaa Assembly intensifies measures to avert cholera

With the cholera outbreak in parts of the country leading to the hospitalization and death of an increasing number of people, the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly(CCMA) has intensified measures to avert a similar occurrence in the metropolis.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on Thursday, The CCMA Public Relations Officer, Mr. Nicholas Addo said a crisis meeting had been convened by the Mayor, Ms. Priscilla Arhin, to review and scale up strategies to avert the situation.

He said part of the measures had been to intensify public education via radio and community centres, which had resulted in mass clean up exercises at various communities almost every weekend.

He said neighbourhood watch dog committees had also been revived and tasked with monitoring sanitation offences as well as reporting back to the assembly for action as enshrined in the bye-laws of the assembly.

Communal waste containers which hitherto were too close the communities had been relocated whilst others which were far had been brought within range to encourage patronage.

This has increased patronage and emptying of the containers has been increased to prevent the outbreak of the any disease.

Mr. Alex Damptey, an officer of the Waste Management Department, said as part of measures to prevent an outbreak, managers of public toilets had been instructed to put in place, proper sanitation management.

He said the department through ZOOMLION and other cleaning companies had increased emptying of overflowing rubbish containers as well as disinfecting dumping sites.

The department, he said, had compelled households that had connected their septic tanks into the main drains to either block them or be prosecuted.

“We can intensify all these measures, but attitudinal change is the head way and key factor to prevent certain diseases such as cholera…it is about time we took responsibility of our actions, “Mr Damptey said.

The Metropolitan Environmental Health Officer, Mr. John Louis Abban, said sanitation inspectors had been deployed to the communities to undertake their routine checks as well as educate members of the community.

He said even though some sanitation offenders had been prosecuted earlier this year there were more cases pending.