General News of Saturday, 30 April 2016

Source: Daily Guide

Confusion over toilet wall

File photo File photo

There was confusion at Changli, a suburb of Tamale when some residents of the area chased away youth said to be supporters of Inusah Fuseni, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, who doubles as Roads and Highways Minister.

Residents of the area, who have failed to get the authorities, including their MP do something about the deplorable state of their public toilet, heaved a sigh of relief when Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia promised to come to their aid.

DAILY GUIDE gathered that the interest showed by Dr. Bawumia in the project appeared to have prompted the minister, who sent a tipper truck laden with cement blocks to signal the commencement of work on the wall.

The residents said that their request to their MP many months ago went unheeded until Dr. Bawumia came into the picture, prompting him to bring the blocks to the site.

The MP promised us months ago and never showed up but because he heard of Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia’s pledge to assist the community, he quickly sent his boys to bring blocks to start building the wall around the toilet, they reiterated.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE, Fuseini Chief, Chingbeli Naa in the area said some leaders of the area told Inusah Fuseini that the community needed a wall around the public toilet because of the health risk it posed to residents but the legislator told them that an MP does not build public toilets and that such tasks are the responsibilities of the District Chief Executives (DCEs), adding that he could only provide them with sand and cement.

Hon Inusah Fuseini, he went on, said he would instruct some people to bring the sand and cement to them the next day but he failed to fulfill his promise.

Fatahiya Abubakari, a tea seller in Changli, told DAILY GUIDE that she sells tea around the public toilet but because of the state of the place her sales had dwindled.

“Sometimes when people come around to buy the tea and the smell around the toilet is too nauseating, they turn away and this affects business and as you know these days, there are no jobs so this is what I do for a living,” she said.

During his visit to the chief of the area, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who later interacted with the residents in the company of the NPP parliamentary candidate for the constituency, promised to address their grievances.

Residents were surprised when a tipper truck conveying blocks appeared at the scene.

A cross-section of the residents stated that it was an insult to them because on several occasions they had made several appeals to the Member of Parliament about the project but he never gave them attention.