Dear Sir/Madam
I would like to thank you for granting us this audience. The Tema Alliance for Change is a group of young individuals based in Tema who have come together to ensure Tema becomes a better place than it is. Outsiders might think Tema is a beautiful city which does not have any challenges. On the contrary, Tema has so many challenges and the utmost challenge is the sanitation problem the city is faced with.
TEMA ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE
Tema township is a place built by our first president Kwame Nkrumah to house the workers of the burgeoning industries that he had set up among some of the places built as residential complex for workers of these industries was site 20, site 2, site1 etc. this news letter is basically concentrated on site 2. Site 2 is strategically situated in the centre of Tema making it the heart of the city. Over the years, this strategically placed area has become a description of what I would call “A COUNTRY IN A CITY” because although its densely populated with an estimated value of 5000 residents, the visitors that enter daily is also estimated to be 3000 visitors.
The sanitation problem in site 2, where I live is very much appalling. How to dispose of refuse is a major concern to the residents of site 2. There used to be a rubbish truck that comes weekly to collect the rubbish but this has ceased and all rubbish is either taken to the market rubbish dump or they are dumped in the dwarf gutters that have been built to check flood during rainy seasons. Would it not be nice if rubbish collectors on the call of the Assemblyman go to orderly collect the rubbish in people’s homes? I strongly believe residents should gather their rubbish and put it in front of their homes for the rubbish collectors. This should be done for a monthly fee, all under the general supervision of the Assemblyman.
Another problem associated with sanitation is the people’s own hygiene. There are four public bath houses that cater’s for the huge population of site 2. People in site 2 unlike the other residential areas do not have their personal bathrooms and toilets, thereby relying on these public bath houses. One bath house has over two thousand people visiting it daily. Also, it is sometimes embarrassing to be naked with lots of people in one bathroom. The number of water closets are evidently not enough with about eight seats each for male and female in one bath house. One can easily transfer a transmittable disease to another person because cleaning of these bath houses are not thorough.
Little or next to zero detergent is used to clean the bath houses. No germicide is used to ensure that diseases are controlled. The amount they take is fairly good so I think the Assemblyman and the unit committee should in consultation with
the T.M.A help the bathroom attendants with some incentives such as Omo, dettol, izal etc to some reasonable level so they will be able to properly wash and clean the bath houses.
Again when water is not flowing, there is only one pit-laterine (GBUNGBLAIN) that cater’s for the huge population of site 2. This toilet has about ten seats each for male and female and you can imagine over 8,000 people visiting one toilet house. The health problems associated with this situation is extremely bad and unencouraging.
Another sanitary headache is our choked gutters. We are all responsible for the choked gutters since some of us dump our refuse into the gutters. We also dump our solid waste into the gutters. For instance, the gutter behind Maame Sekunde serves as toilet for children, which is very bad. Parents should be discouraged from sending their children there to defecate. This particular gutter is very close to the market and by the roadside, which creates an embarrassing and an unwanted reputation for site 2 as a place where children defecate into gutters.
Interms of education at the basic level, we have done fairly well. A significant number of children are in basic schools. The main basic school that site 2 children attend is Twedaase primary and J.H.S. This school compared with other schools like Creator and St. Paul’s is low in educational standards. As a result, the assemblyman has done well to organize evening classes for these children and he must be commended.
At the secondary level, there is not many children attending secondary schools and those attending tertiary schools are even fewer. Those unable to attend tertiary schools end up engaging in internet fraud. These kids deceive people on the internet to obtain money and other things. Parents should be encouraged to take their wards higher up the education ladder.
Site 2 was built as a non permanent residence place for the workers of industries and the Tema Harbour. Therefore, the house had been given to the original occupants on permanent basis. We the current occupants have lived here all our lives, our grand fathers and fathers have all lived here, but yet we are not considered permanent residents. Almost every year, there are rumors of site 2 being demolished by Tema Development Corporation and Tema Municipal Assembly. The residents should not be made to go through this stress of their homes being demolished. In fact the residents should be given a way of being permanent residents. The cost of demolishing would probably be higher than letting the residents purchase and keep their homes.
Moreso, site 2 is way underdeveloped. The Assemblyman of Kwasi Plange Electoral Area lives in site 2, The Tema Dogomba Chief lives in Site 2, There are Two Central Mosque and two other Churches in Site 2 and yet no meaningful development has come to Site 2.
The little road between Site 2 and Site 20 is untarred for all this while. As a result of no proper attention given to the site, the people have turned the area into a slum.
Site 2 is very prominent because we get the prominent people visiting Us. The late Prof. Evans Atta Mills, Nana Akufo-Addo and the current president John Dramani Mahama have all been to site 2 During their campaign tours. The Tema Alliance for Challenge believes site 2 deserves better and must be given proper attention. This falls on us all to ensure site 2 takes its rightful place in Tema as a better place than it is today. ‘One tree cannot make a forest’ and One person cannot make a society’ either. Lets all join hands together, lets take the first step to try and bring to notice all the problems of Site 2. Let us all aid the Assemblyman and the Unit Committee, because evidently they have made some efforts but we know it is not enough despite all that they have done, to make site 2 a better and respectful place.