The people of Nsuta in the Sekyere Central District of Ashanti are alarmed by the state of filth that is engulfing the community, and it’s interfering with education and creating additional health risks in the area.
In an interview with Damak Media, Rev. Father Omono Asamoah, the head priest of the Anglican Church at Nsuta, stated that the situation is getting worse since Zoom-Lion has been neglecting their responsibilities to the community for almost five months, and the overflowing waste containers have not been removed.
He says the church has contributed to maintaining cleanliness by returning a portion of its land to the community for the construction of a temporary waste management site and a public restroom, but we are now being pressured to reclaim the land if they don’t take proper care of it.
His concern was directed towards the Sekyere Central District Assembly Environmental Health Department, the District Chief Executive Officer, Hon Benjamin Kingsley Kodua, and their member of parliament, Hon Adelaide Ntim Yaa Agyeiwaa, requesting prompt intervention and practical steps to address the situation.
The headmaster of the Anglican JHS, Rev. Father Kwabena Kwateng, expressed concern about the mishandling of the waste site and how it has impacted their academic programs, including teaching and learning.
He stated that during the rainy season, house flies and mosquitoes are bred causing cholera and malaria, while burning activities during the dry season cause asthma and other illnesses. Because there are cluster schools in the area, it was mentioned that school-age children are primarily affected by the aforementioned disease.
The director of the Sekyere Central District Environmental Health, Mrs. Mercy Adams, in an interview with the reporters from Damak Media in her office on Tuesday, January 29, 2024, stated that the district service provider, Zoom-Lion Company Limited, had experienced a major malfunction with their waste compactor, which has been of great concern to them.
She did, however, reassure that the waste compactor has been fixed and is now working on the district’s garbage pile.
There wouldn’t be any trash left uncollected by Friday, February 1, 2024, she promised.