The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) seems to be overwhelmed by the indiscriminate dumping of refuse on pavements, streets and open spaces within the metropolis.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast show, the AMA’s Public Relations Officer, Numo Blafo, admitted that it will be difficult for the assembly to apprehend perpetrators of the act but his outfit is still working with the service providers to make the city clean.
“The issue is that how do you get the people who do this,” The PRO said after he was asked about the possibility of slapping perpetrators of such acts with a fine.
He made the comment on the back of Citi News’ report of such trend in parts of Accra including Achimota and Lapaz.
Street sweepers under the Zoomlion National Youth Employment Programme module keep heap of refuse along the streets.
In view of this, pedestrians also dump refuse from their homes at such places hence contributing to the heap of refuse along some streets in Accra.
“The incident of people now dumping refuse at any place at all — under traffic lights, along main roads, is new phenomenon which I just can’t understand why people are behaving this way. It’s not only the Achimota area we have such area, we have it all over the city. People are not doing things that are not right and that are what we should be looking at because you cannot tell me that because your refuse have not been collected in your house, hence you would go and dump the refuse along the road. What modern city do they act like that,” he lamented.
On the president’s promise to rid the capital city of filth by 2020, Numo Blafo said it could be possible if the AMA is adequately equipped.
“It’s doable when the political will is there because acquisition of land in Accra is a challenge. So if government will assist the AMA to acquire the land, why not and also give the AMA the financial backing to acquire the necessary equipment and to get the experts to work on it why not, we can do it,” he added.
Numo Blafo also disclosed that the AMA has planned to acquire a land and building its own properly engineered landfill site but said “acquisition of the land has been a problem for now.”
“Now that the new mayor is in, I know he has been briefed and we are looking at how we will continue with that process.”
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(Via: CitiFM Online Ghana)
