Dormaa lacks bye laws on sanitation

Dormaa Ahenkro (B/A) Aug. 8, GNA - Bodies responsible for the enforcement of sanitation rules and regulations in the Dormaa Municipality have expressed grave concern over the absence of duly endorsed bye laws to guide and protect their operations.

The absence of any legally-supported rules of engagement has not only granted a leeway to residents to flout sanitation laws but has also denied the Assembly substantial revenue.

In view of the situation, the environmental sub-committee of the Assembly at a meeting in Dormaa Ahenkro to assess performance in the first half of the year resolved to have its bye laws gazetted.

This would enable all bodies mandated with special roles towards environmental protection in the municipality to carry out their mandate without fear or favour, it maintained.

Mrs. Constance Yeboah, Municipal Environmental Officer, expressed concern about encroachment on sanitation sites in communities, citing instances where refuse dumps were located very near homes with attendant health problems.

She deplored the location of structures and businesses on waterways and mentioned a recent flood disaster at Dormaa Ahenkro where an entire poultry farm housing 5,000 birds was swept away.

The sub-committee decided to meet with the plot allocation committee of Dormaa Traditional Council to discuss the haphazard manner of plot allocation in the municipality with recourse to laid-down plans for community development.

Mr. Vincent Oppong Asamoah, Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive, later told the Ghana News Agency in an interview that the continued absence of bye laws was impeding revenue mobilization, making the achievement of the Assembly's internal revenue targets a mirage.

He however indicated that the Assembly was in consultation with its solicitors to have a comprehensive bye law in place to regulate the activities of all manner of people in the municipality.