Filth envelops this abandoned house
RESIDENTS OF Nsumfa CP Junction have called on Greater Accra Regional Minister, Nii Armah Ashitey to close down a refuse dumpsite in the area that is giving them sleepless nights.
Spokesperson for the residents, Philip Assafuah said during a tour of the site that Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) converted a quarry in the area into a dumpsite to deal with the growing production of waste from 0.45 to 0.54 tonnes per person.
“The dumpsite is too close to us. Most of have developed health complications due to the stench, rodents and flies and attempts to get waste management company, Stanley Owusu Waste Company Limited to stop using the site have been unsuccessful,” he added.
He complained that other companies like Zoomlion Ghana Limited and Asadu Waste Limited have also been using the site.
Mr. Assafuah observed that an investigation conducted by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) indicated that a number of people have developed asthma and typhoid because of the dumpsite.
“Others have abandoned their homes but we don’t have any place to go, we used all our resources to put up these buildings,” he explained.
He claimed the dumpsite is currently serving the whole of Accra and that due to inadequate parking space, trucks that transport the waste sometimes block the entrances to their homes before off loading the refuse.
“This situation is making life really tough for us; we don’t want to take the law into our hands that is why we are pleading with the authorities to shut down the site.”
Shirley Ayorkor Botwey, MP for Weija in her remarks said the dumpsite is associated with scavenging activities, flies, and other vectors making life unbearable for residents.
She continued that the dumpsite had not been fenced leading to littering and the collection of scrap metals.
The EPA survey indicated that Stanley Owusu Waste Company should heavily compensate residents affected by the site.
It also said the Ga South district should be held responsible for giving authorization to the waste company to use the site and not monitoring its activities.
Ms. Botwey said security services and law enforcement agencies should be involved in such cases to enforce compliance with the law.
Meanwhile Abakisi Lincoln Brown, Senior Operations Manager for the company has promised residents his outfit will collaborate with the EPA and other stakeholders to protect their homes and health.
“We will work together to make sure they live in a clean environment so that one day we can all visit the same place to hold public gatherings,” he noted.
He said living in a clean environment was a shared responsibility indicating his outfit’s readiness to partner the AMA and residents to find lasting solutions to the problem.
The residents had put up a billboard with the inscription “No more dumping of refuse here after February 19, 2012.”
By Portia Anaman
