The Donkorkurom Township, the capital of Kwahu Afram Plains North District has been without a public place of convenience for the past six years since the collapse of the only public toilet in the town.
A new one being constructed by the district assembly had been abandoned and the large number of traders, farmers and drivers who visit the town on market days had to defecate along the road in the bush.
This is affecting environmental sanitation and could lead to an outbreak of epidemic in the town. Some drivers and traders expressed their concern in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) Media Auditing and Tracking Team when they visited the town recently.
According to Mr. Kwame Kwakye, the former Chairman of the Co-operative Transport Union, all development project including the construction of a market, lorry park, place of convenience and the rehabilitation of feeder roads started four years ago at Donkorkurom and other communities have come to a standstill which was retarding the development of in the district.
He therefore appealed to the district assembly to ensure the completion of the project to improve the living standard of the people. The leadership of traders at the Donkorkrom market complained that a new market being constructed by the assembly for them had been abandoned and so they are trading under the scorching sun yet the assembly collects tolls from them daily.
Mr. Kwadwo Frimpong, Station Master of the Donkorkurom branch of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) complained that, a new bigger lorry park being constructed by the assembly to replace a small and congested one had been abandoned and communities which approach the assembly for the release of grader to rehabilitate their deplorable road had to pay for the cost of the fuel that would be used for the rehabilitation work yet the assembly collect tolls from drivers plying the same road.
When the District Co-ordinating Director of the assembly, Mr. Samuel Badu Baiden was contacted, he said the project were awarded by the previous administration four years ago but funds have not been released to pay the contractors to resume work.