Kumasi, July 9, GNA - A public forum on the second phase of the Urban Environmental Sanitation Project under the Community Infrastructure Upgrading Programme in Kumasi has been held at Old Tafo in the metropolis.

The forum enabled the residents to interact with the technocrats of the projects so that their ideas and suggestions could be factored into the final designs of the project to enhance sustainability. The World Bank sponsored project costing 2.7 million dollars would be executed at Old Tafo and Ayigya in the metropolis and it would involve the construction of access roads, provision of street lighting, water supply and sanitary facilities.

Presenting the designs of the Old Tafo project at the forum on Friday, Mr J. Boateng, a member of the Consulting Team, said eight access roads with a total distance of 5.1 kilometres and streetlights have been selected to be upgraded in the township. Touching on the sanitation aspect of the project, he said three new public water closets with elevated tanks would be constructed in separate sites.

Mr. Anthony Mensah, Director of Waste Management Department of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), said the first phase of the upgrading was executed from 1996 to 2003 and it involved sanitation, drainage, solid waste management and infrastructure works. He indicated that the solid waste component was citywide which involved a sanitary landfill project at Oti near Dompoase, adding that 3,000 household toilets, 20 public toilets and 40 toilets for some selected schools were constructed.

Mr Mensah further said there was a drainage work on River Subin from Kejetia to Kaase, stressing that access roads, drains as well as streetlights and water were provided at Oforikrom, Anloga and Aboabo, the three beneficiary communities of the project. Dr Anthony Akoto-Osei, Member of Parliament (MP) for Old Tafo and Deputy Minister of Finance, urged the consultants to live up to expectation so that the projects could be completed on time to enable the community benefit from additional projects. He called on the people to embrace household toilets so that public toilets could be reserved for non-residents or strangers. Nana Agyen Frimpong II, Tafohene, asked the people to co-operate with the consultants to ensure quality facilities that would last.