La community calls for dredging of Kpeshie Lagoon

Accra, July 1, GNA - The La Citizens Network (LCN), an association at La in Accra, and the National Youth Authority on Friday advocated a comprehensive programme that would lead to the dredging of the Kpeshie Lagoon to ensure its sustainable development and management.

Mr Jeffrey Tetteh, secretary and spokesperson of LCN, said fishermen harvested tilapia from the Lagoon in the past but there was hardly any aquatic life in it due to poor sanitation.

Mr Tetteh made the appeal in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during an exercise to collect plastic and waste materials at the banks of the Kpeshie Lagoon in Accra.

He said the exercise was to create awareness of the poor state of the Lagoon, which had been engulfed in filth, and an opportunity to articulate their concerns with regard to its neglect.

Mr Tetteh said when the Lagoon was dredged, marine life would return and there would be economic activities and job creation in the communities.

He said the Ada and Chemu Lagoons had become major tourist attractions, but the Kpeshie Lagoon had become a chronic problem because of plastic and solid waste.

Mr Tetteh said dredging would also prevent a natural disaster like flooding.

He called on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Fisheries Commission and other stakeholders to educate the people on sanitation, especially along the banks of lagoons.

Mr Derrick Nii Nai Mensah, Project Coordinator of LCN, said the exercise would be an annual programme and he appealed to corporate bodies to donate dustbins and wheelbarrows to ensure the sustainability of the exercise.

He advised holidaymakers and traders at the beaches to be conscious of the environment and keep them free from filth.

A study conducted by the EPA on the Kpeshie Lagoon confirmed a high level of pollution of the water body.