Kaasi residents protest over poor condition of landfill site

Scores of residents of Kaasi in the Kumasi metropolis on Wednesday morning blocked city authorities from discharging waste at the Dompoase Landfill site to protest the condition of the site. Clad in all red, they blocked the main road leading to the landfill site managed by the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA).

According to them, the condition at the landfill site is injurious to their health, and claimed the city authorities have failed to act, hence their protest. They marched from BOST through some streets of Kaasi before converging at the main entrance of the landfill site.

They held placards to demonstrate their grievances, some of which read, “we are dying”, “yentumi biom”, “the odour is too much” among others. All trucks carrying waste materials were grounded as the residents prevented entry to the dumpsite, causing heavy vehicular traffic congestion within the Kaasi industrial enclave.

The angry residents refused to remove the blockade leading to the cell site until the police later intervened to restore order. The leader of the demonstrators, known as Cosmos, accused the metropolitan assembly of being insensitive to their health. “We are facing lots of challenges because of the landfill, the local authority has not shown any commitment towards addressing our concerns,” he exclaimed.

More than one hundred residential apartments are located around on the Kaasi cell site. Breeds of mosquitoes and other insects compound the health challenges of the residents. “They promised to conduct periodical fumigation but it has become a hoax,” one angry resident claimed. This is the second time residents have demonstrated within the last decade.

Assemblyman for Kaasi electoral area, Elliot Ofosu Banor, warned of further demonstrations if the KMA fails to heed to their grievances. “We will continue pressuring them until they address our concerns, we are dying slowly,” Banor bemoaned.