Members of the Korle Klottey Youth Alliance have expressed their disappointment in the Minister for Works and Housing for claiming that some persons are trying to tarnish the image of the NPP government.

This comes after Samuel Atta Akyea denied seeing images of rubbish floating atop the running water in the open drains along Asylum Down, after a brief fifteen minutes downpour last Tuesday.

“There was a whole propaganda trending that a lot of debris was floating after 15 minutes downpour, but that arrangement couldn’t be like that. It was false and those who are behind it to smear the government must know it is not proper,” the Minister said during a tour after the rains.

But Korle Klottey Youth Alliance finds the Minister’s words very surprising, upsetting and unpleasant.

“The scheme of operations adopted by members of the group (as the name of the association implies) pointedly and specifically covers the area mentioned. It is very much surprising, when a Minister indulges in fabrications and engages in speculations. The images were captured by residents living and working within the mentioned area, and as such appreciates what pertains within that vicinity better than the Minister of Works and Housing,” the group said in a statement.

The statement signed by Executive Director of the group, Nii Otenkorang Ankrah, further noted that the condition of the Asylum Down drains have been a source of worry for years for residents as heaps of rubbish are always washed into them whenever there’s a downpour, little or heavy.

“On the said day the rains began, a member resident living in the area reported this to the group, providing first-hand evidence-based information,” Mr. Otenkorang noted.

“It is pretty much an open secret to persons living along and conversant with accumulated waste sitting at the Paloma side of the drain, which flows downstream when assisted by a little or heavy pour,” he added.

The group noted that the Minister’s action proves he is not on top of issues relating to the drains.

“The sector Minister, again in his ignorant take on the issue telling the rest of the world that it was a mere propaganda, clearly exposes and renders himself vulnerable.”

They are asking the minister to apologise to residents.

“By this notice, the Minister must respectfully render an unqualified apology to residents at Asylum Down, and extended to Klottey Korle Youth Alliance, for such falsehood spewed on electronic media. In addition, he must give a clear road map to end this canker, since another raining season is in the offing in a few months,” the statement added.