Filth has engulfed the premises of the Adabase Junior High School at Tindonmolgo, a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region, creating a nuisance and impeding effective teaching and learning.

An overflowing refuse container, located close to the school, spills into the school compound and, combined with the deteriorated school toilet, creates an awful atmosphere and environment, the Ghanaian Times observed during a visit to the school last December.

Though the Ghanaian Times could not speak with school authorities and the students as they were on holiday, some residents appealed to the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly to relocate the refuse-collecting point from the school and pull down the toilet since it was not suitable to be used.

The Ghanaian Times also observed that some residents of the community defecated around the toilet and threw garbage around the old and rusty container, which emitted an awful smell in the area.

A resident in the area, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the toilet built over 50 years ago had undergone rehabilitation some years back and was fitted with lights, but the place had been vandalized.

The source said the toilet was “commercialized,” but because the caretakers were not present all day and night, some unscrupulous people went to defecate around it and also threw refuse indiscriminately around the container, which spilt into the school compound.

“It appeared the assembly is overwhelmed with refuse collection. They were over-relying on the District Assemblies’ Common Fund to carry out some of these activities, and once the common fund stops coming, they resign themselves to fate,” he added.

“It was a long battle I had with the Municipal Assembly and the Zoomlion waste management company trying to get the place cleaned. At a point, I contracted people to clean the place, but they were overwhelmed with the heavy dumping of refuse, so they stopped,” he explained.

Abdul Moomin Razak, an officer with the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly, told the Ghanaian Times, “Yes, the toilet and the refuse dump are very close to the school, and the wind blows the refuse to the school, emitting a bad odour.”

“We also have an attitudinal challenge. The residents just throw the rubbish indiscriminately; they don’t pour it into the container,” he said.

“We acknowledge the problem. We also have challenges; our refuse trucks have broken down. Zoomlion has promised to help us. For the interim, we shall detail our workers to go and tidy up the place, while we work out a long-term solution to the problem,” he added.

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