The Lagoon serves domestic purposes for some residents in Tema
Members of the Ga Dangme Youth have threatened to stage a demonstration over recent discharges of faecal matter into the Chemu Lagoon.
The group in a statement dated May 11, 2018 said its attention has been drawn to the excrement pumped into the Lagoon by some sewer tanker operators in recent times, coupling the grave destruction already done to the water body by factories around the Tema Municipality.
The development in recent times, it said, scoffs the purpose of the Lagoon which hitherto provided socio-economic benefits for residents.
In the statement addressed to the Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE) of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and copied to the Minister for Sanitation, the Secretary of the Ga Dangme Youth, Okoe Oninku Henry indicated that “a recent phenomena that a cesspit tanker operator dislodges directly, raw faecal matter through the lagoon into the sea raises major concerns requiring very urgent attention.”
It continued that, “we have come to the realization that environmental sanitation does not feature prominently on the schedules of Government Agencies, whereas demands for same is very minimal.”
The Tema Chemu Lagoon has served as an industrial sink through which almost all the major industries including textiles, oil industries among other companies channel their waste into the sea over the years.
In an attempt to get government to act on preserving water bodies across the country, the group said it will launch a public awareness march in the coming weeks to ensure the agenda on making Accra the cleanest city streamlined among the policies of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) is realized.
A date is yet to be announced as members of Ga Damgbe Youth continue to hold deliberations with the Police in accordance with the Public Order Act to ensure their plea is channelled lawfully.
