Choicenewsonline Your Choice Is Here
There is a looming cholera outbreak in parts of the country as the good people of Yawkrom in Amansie West district of Ashanti had blamed the Member of Parliament Hon.Albert Joseph Quarm and the District Chief Executive Nii Lante Ollenu for their incompetencies leading to the abandoning of a toilet project.
According to them the only toilet facility that serve the entire community was pull down to pave way for this new toilet facility but the project after reaching a certain stage has been rejected and the contractors are no where to be located making it difficult for us to get place for convenience.
The abandoned ongoing construction of automated modern toilet facility projects under a Public-Private Partnership between Ghana First Company and the Government of Ghana started some years ago looking forward for it to be completed but as at now the project has now turned to be white elephant which is threatening the issue of sanitation in this community and we a using this medium to appeal to the president and the District Chief Executive including our member of parliament to come to our aid. ” they opined “.
Addressing a section of the media the residents indicated that the new toilet facilities which were expected to be completed within three months have not seen the light of day due to nonpayment of the contractors leaving the affected communities without places of convenience for several months forcing many residents to engage in open defecation.
The Government through the Local Government Ministry in 2018 signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Ghana First Company Limited [GhFCL], a waste management firm owned by one Frank Akulley, an NPP stalwart to construct 20,000 units of modern automated toilet facilities across all Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts across the country at cost of $300,000,000 in partnership with a German firm, Thermodul System GmBH.
The Company subsequently opened tender for the construction of the first set of the facilities with a target of constructing 10,000 of its toilet facility model and put into operation by 2025.
Contractors were made to believe that funds were available in Ghana, and therefore a contractor just had to raise the structure, provide roofing and outside plastering to pave way for the automation, meanwhile the Contractors were made to pay 2% upfront of the contract sum to Ghana first company limited before award letters and various sites were handed over to them.However, the contractors, most of whom have reached 80% completion stage, claim they have not been paid despite several efforts forcing them to abandon sites.
Choicenews visit to some affected electoral areas such as Akropong in the same District revealed excruciating situations of open defecation.
“They demolished the only toilet facility serving the entire electoral area with population of over 1500 so look around everywhere all these polythene bags are toilets. This bush is where everybody go to toilet so what is the sense in demolishing the toilet if you know it can’t be completed early for us.all these polythene bags you see around are wrap and throw it contains toilet, a resident lamented.
“Both men and women defecate near the roadside. Sometimes you see the men looking at your private part. Very discomfort but what can you do. We all shit together at dawn and evening in the bush.
The chief of Manso Yawkrom Nana Kwaku ti wants government’s intervention to ensure the completion of the project with alacrity to avert outbreak of diseases staring at the people of Yawkrom and Akropong.
More worrying to the people of Akropong is that the residents both men and women go to toilet in the bush which is very risky to their lives. Everyone is forced to engage in the open defecation notoriety which is not the best.
” my people are struggling to get decent place of convenience since this impasse started so all that I want to say is that government must intervene, abrogate the PPP agreement and get other private persons to complete the project fo Build Operate and Transfer bases so that residents get toilet facility to use “Nana stressed”.
Already, it is estimated that close to Nineteen percent (19%) of Ghana’s total population practice open defection daily translating into one out of every five people practicing it.
Ghana reportedly loses an average of $79 million annually to open defecation and is classified among 34 countries with the highest open defecation rates of 15% and above. The stalemate between the contractors and Ghana First Company if not fixed will worsen the situation and effect effort to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal on Sanitation and Hygiene by 2030.
Story filed by :OMONO ASAMOAH EZRA FM
