Community 22 Cries Over Indiscriminate Dumping

SOME RESIDENTS of Community 22 annex, an Ashaiman suburb have expressed fears that the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in the area could lead to the outbreak of diseases.

Speaking to DAILY GUIDE at one of the refuse dumping sites, they said the problem which started about two years ago had become alarming and appealed to the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly (ASHMA) to intervene to save the residents.

One of them who mentioned her name as Jocelyn told the paper she and some other residents realized some two months ago that the refuse pile was growing bigger and bigger, an indication that people were dumping the waste after sunset.

“We are sure that if the area is provided with a proper refuse collection point people will no longer dump their refuse anywhere and anyhow,” she said.

She explained that later, she and her fellow residents got Zoomlion Company Limited to provide waste-management services to them for a fee but that did not last very long as some stopped paying the required fees.

Another resident, Terry Afetsi said when Zoomlion stopped coming, they contacted an Assemblywoman of the area who collaborated with ASHMA to provide some refuse containers. “That assemblywoman lost her slot to a new person during the recent assembly election and so that arrangement too has come to an end. We have since tried unsuccessfully to get the new Assembly member to assist us. We have done all we can but it appears that is not enough and so we are hereby appealing to ASHMA to come in and help restore the healthy nature of our neighbourhood,” he said.

He also expressed concern about poor security in the area at night describing it as frightening. Mr. Afetsi pointed out that some young men believed to members of a gang operating in the area, sometimes attacked residents on their way back home from work.

He told DAILY GUIDE the young men took advantage of the poor nature of roads in the area to either hijack vehicles or rob commuters at night.

“It is indeed disturbing that with our present level of development, people still do not regard sound environmental practices,” he said adding that indiscriminate dumping of refuse had become a regular feature in the community compounding their environmental problems.

While he appealed to ASHMA to intensify efforts at curbing such practices, he asked his fellow residents to adopt good health practices to avoid a possible outbreak of disease.

 From Razak Mardorgyz Abubakar, Ashaiman