Stakeholder collaboration needed to end open defecation - DCE

The Ajumako Enyan Essiam District Chief Executive (DCE), Rev Ransford Kojo Nyarko, has called for more interventions to improve sanitation and prevent disease-causing organisms from spreading in communities.

He is pleading for some interventions including the construction and rehabilitation of boreholes, provision of institutional latrines and a programme to tackle open defecation.

The DCE made the appeal at the second ordinary meeting of the seventh Assembly in Ajumako in the Central region.

He said the district has made strides after joining the Open Defecation Free (ODF) programme.

"Through the relentless effort and drive-by management and the Implementation Unit of the Assembly, the district has achieved a 90percent target as at now, declaring 18 out of the 20 communities Open Defecation Free (ODF) within a space of six months and this is no mean achievement", he noted.

Rev Nyarko congratulated key players who made this happen, adding they would in the coming year pursue an aggressive ODF programme in the district.

He therefore, called on the assembly members to talk to people in their electoral areas to start replicating what has been achieved, adding that support for other projects would be based on seriousness to issues of sanitation.

Touching on education, he expressed worry that the district continued to trail with some schools recording 100 percent failure.

According to him one school had 100 percent failure in 2014 and increased to four schools in 2015.

In 2016, he said eight schools had a 100percent failure rate, but reduced to two schools with 100 percent failure rate in 2017.

The DCE expressed regret that 22 pupils have been impregnated by their teachers which he described as unfortunate.

He hinted that the Assembly would collaborate with the education directorate to strictly enforce the code of conduct of teachers to deal with issues of teachers impregnating pupils, alcoholism and absenteeism. He said the teachers responsible for the pregnancies will be dealt with severely.

The presiding member of the Assembly Mr Evans K. Abban in his welcome address earlier called for calm in relation to the inability of the Assembly to elect a new presiding member.

He attributed the situation to lack of funds at the Assembly to pay the Electoral Commission (EC) to conduct the election.

He used the occasion to wish members a Merry Christmas and a happy new year in advance and asked them to live an incident-free life during the festive season.