Correspondence from Upper East:
Zongo residents in Sandema township in the Builsa North municipality are calling on authorities to swiftly relocate a refuse dump site that is fast crawling into their compounds and posing health risks.
The refuse dump site, popularly known as “A-Issah Borla” sits in the middle of the Zongo settlement in the township and not very far from the busy market where stench and hazardous smoke generates to the discomfort of residents- even in their rooms.
Even though steps were taken by the Builsa North Municipal Assembly last year to clear the age-old refuse site to eliminate the health risks residents have been exposed to, the effort seems not to have been too helpful in arresting the situation as the site is gradually regaining its previous sorry state.
When GhanaWeb’s Senyalah Castro visited the site, people engaged in the improper disposal of waste material with impudence. Large metallic dustbins have been provided at the site but people, especially the market folk, chose to dump the waste on the ground.
Residents say it has been difficult to sanitized the site after the previous excavation by the Assembly due to the unscrupulous activities of other residents and market women.
They said whereas concerned residents were fighting to keep the place clean and have the dump site relocated, others engaged in the indiscriminate disposal of waste material in broad daylight.
Jerry Akanaamwie, a concerned resident said the Assembly took steps to clear the heap of filth after they expressed concern on a community radio station in the area. He added that when the refuse was being cleared, suggestions were made asking authorities to give the place out to investors to keep the land occupied but their suggestions were not taken seriously.
He explained that events being experienced now in which people have gone back to dumping refuse would have been stopped if the land had been given out immediately the filth was cleared.
“We complained several times on Radio Builsa and they took the matter up and the Assembly came to our aid by conveying the whole place [excavating the refuse]. August 20th to 25th that they did the exercise.
“When they came and were clearing the place, we told them it was good. But we told them to get some people to occupy the place so that the dumping of refuse will minimize. They agreed but after that we didn’t hear anything from them up to today and the thing [refuse dump] is going back again.
“We the rest [concerned residents] have been fighting with people, especially we that are here. We know how to properly put the refuse in the container but others will come from afar and just dump them on the ground. Zoom lion too doesn’t come to clean every day”.
Another resident named Mark Akum-yong Adem said the poor sanitary conditions at the refuse site was negatively affecting the lives of residents like him who live very close to it. He stated the several times he contacted people in authority with video evidence of how bad the place was becoming but nothing no action has been taken especial in relocating the site.
He said workers of Zoom Lion in the area tried to keep the place clean but the attitude of people who kept dumping waste there made the work difficult.
“sometimes, I will use my personal phone to video the zoom lion staff that are working within this area and I say if I had the power, I will pay them a higher amount of salary because it is not easy to work in an environment like this”.
Veronica Ali, a resident who has lived in the area since she was young giving an account of how the place became a refuse dump site, told GhanaWeb the place was a pond which posed danger to the lives of residents. She said the late Chief of the area who was worried about the loss of lives asked that waste material be thrown into it to fill it up.
She, however, said poor maintenance of the site over the years resulted in a huge heap of refuse which brought onto the people lots of health challenges such as Malaria and other diseases.
“Before it started, there was a pond here which people were falling in it and the late chief ask that they should put some rubbish to cover it. So that is how it became a Borla and since then they have not been taking care of it until it got to that stage.
“The problem is not just clearing the rubbish but something reasonable must be done. The wind will carry rubbers, papers into our homes. When they gather the rubbish, they burn and the smoke enters into our homes even if you are in your room”.
Refuse dump site to be relocated, MCE assures
The Municipal Chief Executive for the area, David Amoabil Afoko, responding to the concerns of residents in an interview assured that the site will be relocated in the very near future.
He explained that the rainy season contributed much to the delay in finding a suitable place to permanently move the site. He revealed that a preferred site behind the market was being considered.
On the old dump site, he said there were plans to build market stalls to boast business activities and permanently end the disposal of waste on the land.
The MCE cautioned residents and the market folk against dumping ashes with traces of hot charcoal into the dustbins as that was the cause of the fires in the bins.
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