Regional News of Sunday, 4 October 2015

Source: tv3network.com

Garbage engulf parts of Kumasi despite clean-up exercises

Despite the institutionalization of National Sanitation Day in an effort to reduce unsanitary conditions that breed diseases and flooding, some parts Kumasi have been engulfed by filth.

Areas like Akwatia line, Asafo market, Kwadaso, Atonsu are the hardest hit. Garbage are scattered along the streets and major drains in these areas, despite monthly clean up exercise in the last year.

The WAEC area and Aboabo in Kumasi are no different. Plastic bags and rubbers have filled almost every available corner and gutter.

Waste bins are absent on the streets of these areas; a situation that has significantly contributed to indiscriminate dumping. The situation presents imminent danger to the residents but most of them seem adamant.

Some residents who spoke to TV3 on Saturday during this month's clean up exercise said the national sanitation campaign has failed, especially in Kumasi. They claimed the drive to improve sanitation in communities through the spirit of communal labour is not working.

"The national sanitation day exercise has failed....We still see filth all around..The KMA is not doing anything pragmatically to control filth consuming the Akwatia line township...." one resident said.

It appears the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has relegated pragmatic measures in dealing with the problem to the background. But Assembly says it is hopeful the situation would improve.
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Public Relations Officer of KMA, Godwin Okumah Nyame, admitted the Assembly is facing challenges but said they were working to resolve those challenges to improve the sanitation situation in the city.