Some residents of the Sagnarigu Municipality in the Northern Region have appealed to the Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly to help address the poor sanitation situation in the area.

They said open defecation, lack of sanitation facilities as well as indiscriminate disposable of waste remained a challenge in the area exposing them to health hazards.

They made the appeal at a town hall meeting organised in Tamale on Saturday by the Justice and Peace Committee of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in collaboration with Catholic Archdiocese of Tamale and the Ghana Catholic Bishops Conference.

The meeting brought together some residents and officials of the Assembly to interact and share developmental issues affecting them and how they could be addressed.

It was on the theme: "Community Participation in Local Governance for Rapid and Sustainable Development".

The residents also appealed for the construction of some school buildings and renovation of existing structures that were in poor shape, and tackling of issues of drug abuse among others to ensure sanity in the area.

Madam Philomena Aruk Teni, President of the Justice and Peace Committee of Our Lady of Fatima Parish entreated the citizenry to help enhance rapid development in their communities by actively participating in local governance processes.

Mr Issah Mohammed Hardi, Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer, Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly acknowledged the poor sanitation situation and appealled to the citizenry to collectively help improve the situation through attitudinal change by building toilet facilities in their homes and cleaning the environment.

Mr Alhassan Mahamudu Kamara, Coordinating Director, Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly, who spoke on behalf of the Municipal Chief Executive, assured that the Assembly would do its best to help address the situation.

Mr Toyibu Hamid, Planning Officer, Sagnarigu Municipal Assembly said a great portion of the Assembly’s revenue was from grants urging the citizenry to pay their taxes to help the Assembly carry out development projects in the area.

Mr Abdulai Soale, Sagnarigu Municipal Director of the National Commission for Civic Education urged the citizenry to actively participate in local governance processes by attending community fora and contributing to community action plans to ensure transparency and accountability in development programmes in their areas to enhance sustainable development.