Tension mounts over siting of public toilet

Residents of Abetifi Zongo in the Sunyani Municipality of the Brong Ahafo Region have descended heavily on the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Akwasi Oppong Ababio, for situating a public toilet in the Zongo.

According to the residents, several complaints have been logged with the Municipal Environmental Officer, Simon Opoku, to halt the construction of the toilet facility because it poses health risks, but all their efforts have not yielded any result.

A petition written to the MCE to stop the work has also not received any response.

They accused the assembly member for the area, Bosu Yahaya, of being in bed with the assembly so when they reported the incident to him, he did nothing about it because he will get proceeds from the facility.

A visit by The Finder revealed that there are already three toilet facilities in the vicinity.

The stench emanating from the facilities is unbearable and poses a health threat to the residents, especially children. The new toilet under construction is about one foot from some people’s window.

Justice Aning, a resident of the area, told The Finder in an interview that he led the residents to send a petition to the Municipal Assembly, but they are yet to receive a response while the construction is still ongoing.

“Mr. Simon Opoku promised to come to the area, but he has never stepped foot here,” he said.

The Finder chanced on a petition sent to the Sunyani Municipal Assembly signed by 50 residents, in which they called on the Municipal Assembly to stop the construction of the toilet facility.

When the Municipal Environmental Officer, Simon Opoku, was contacted, he said something would be done about the situation, but at the time of filing this report, the assembly has contracted prisoners from the Sunyani Prisons who were working on the toilet.