<<Print>>

Heaps of rubbish have been abandoned at a transfer station at Mamprobi near the Tuesday Market for months. The collection point is situated in the midst of residents close to prominent locations like the Adwoa Boatemaa Clinic, opposite the Martyrs of Uganda Catholic Church, and a pharmacy. The situation has created a lot of inconvenience to residents of the area. The Tuesday Market is a very popular market and the potential of the heaps of rubbish causing a major health hazard for food sellers as well as those who purchase food items is very real. Concerns of residents Speaking to the Daily Graphic, residents of the area said they were no longer safe considering the fact that they had been compelled to share their homes with flies and mosquitoes every day. They indicated that the situation often became worse when it rained as the overpowering stench emanating from the collection point tended to be unbearable. According to them, as long as the authorities continued to dump rubbish at the site, they were at a health risk They have therefore called on the city authorities, as a matter of urgency, to relocate the station. A resident, Mr John Arthur, who is the owner of a popular pharmacy in the area, said complaints had been made to the Ablekuma South Metro division of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly but there had not been any feedback. Persistent dumping According to him, even though there were no transfer trucks at the station to cart away rubbish, workers of the waste management company operating in the area, still continue to dump rubbish there in spite of the rubbish containers brimming over with refuse. The residents are, therefore, expressing displeasure at the poor services being provided as against the high fees that they are charged. �It is sad that people will collect rubbish from houses just metres away and dump them in the midst of residents without any regard to the health implications,�� he said. Health threat Mr Arthur said the heaps of rubbish were posing a threat to the health of residents and appealed to the authorities to do something about the situation. �This can lead to an outbreak of diseases such as cholera, malaria, diarrhoea and other related diseases especially now that the rainy season is here and which is what we are trying to avoid,� he emphasised. With the rainy season just ahead, the residents pray that the authorities would listen to them and collect the rubbish and relocate the site as well to enable residents to have respite. �We are not able to breathe around here because the stench emanating from the place is too much to bear but we don�t have anywhere to go; that is why we are still here,� a trader, Mrs Gladys Ansah, told the Daily Graphic. Assemblyman�s response The Assembly Member for the area, Mr Philip Lamptey, told the Daily Graphic that the assembly was working hard to ensure the collection of heaps of rubbish at the station. He attributed the current situation to the unavailability of landfill sites. Mr Lamptey, who is also the Chairman of the Committee on Sanitation at AMA, indicated that in the interim, the assembly would embark on a mass spraying exercise in the area to reduce the danger of outbreak of any disease in the area. He noted that the problem would be addressed to relieve residents from further inconveniences.