Tema, April 17 GNA – Mr Samuel Evans Ashong Narh, Acting Tema Municipal Chief Executive on Saturday warned residents of Tema to desist from dumping solid and foreign materials into sewer lines to get them choked. In a speech read on his behalf at a sod cutting ceremony to construct sewer lines at Tema Community Two BBC, he stated that the improper attention to laid down requirements on sewer lines have created serious problems for both the Tema Municipal Assembly and residents.
The sewer materials estimated at 821 million cedis were donated by Mr Abraham Ossei-Aidoo, MP for Tema West constituency where the lines had broken down for years thus compelling the affected residents to resort to the bush to attend to nature’s call.
The Tema Municipal Assembly (TMA) is offering technical advice. Mr Narh said the sewer lines had been rehabilitated twice after its original construction in 1959 with the last in 1998, but because of the unhygienic behaviour of users the lines were choked within a short period.
He said it cost a lot of money to undertake the rehabilitation works and regretted that unsighted materials like sponges, clothing, plastic bottles and sanitary pads are dumped into them and thus causing overflow of manholes.
Mr Narh expressed regret that some bad elements in society even steal the steel covers of manholes and sell them to scrap dealers and described the practice as unpatriotic and must cease.
“This, together with the frequent breakdown of the system due to bad usage compels TMA to increase sewer maintenance fees.”
The Chief Executive therefore, asked the residents of Tema to learn to use appropriate tissue papers to prevent getting them choked else the frequent rehabilitation works would not achieve the desired results. He also entreated residents to become watchdogs over public properties because, “it is your taxes that are used in the construction and maintenance of these facilities.”
He called on the residents to muster courage to expose their fellow tenants who connect run-off water from their kitchens and bathrooms into manholes because it is woefully unacceptable. Mr Narh said while TMA is ready to do its best to maintain and protect the health of residents they must also play their roles to enable the assembly to render quality service.
Mr Henry Osei Owusu, Private Secretary to the MP, who deputised for him explained that he was moved by the plight of the affected residents of BBC so he raised funds to assist them and pledged more assistance. Residents of the area expressed gratitude to the MP.
Source: GhanaWeb
