Occupants of Sunyani gov’t bungalows still use pan latrines

Occupants of some government bungalows in the Sunyani Municipality in the Bono Region are still using pan latrines as places of convenience.

These bungalows are located in the heart of the Sunyani township but have no toilet facilities, thereby threatening the health of occupants and their neighbours.

Among them is the Junior Staff Quarters located at the Parks and Gardens, near the Bank of Ghana’s magnificent building.

For years, residents living at the quarters and the surrounding neighbourhoods have had to endure the stench that emanates from the pans.

They say their plight has worsened lately as the person who was in charge of disposing of the human excreta from the pans had been sick for sometime.

Now they were compelled to remove the pan, dig a hole in which the excreta was poured and cover it. The Mirror gathered that the man had been unwell since October 2018.

Residents who spoke to The Mirror on condition of anonymity expressed concern about the sanitation situation and health implications.

They called on the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, who is their landlord, to as a matter of urgency provide them with a befitting toilet facility as the assembly had increased their rent from GH¢20.00 to GH¢50.00 per month.

According to residents, they had complained to the assembly for years, yet nothing had been done about the situation.

When The Mirror contacted the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Sunyani Municipal Assembly, Mr Edwin Kofi Darkey, he said the assembly was aware of the unacceptable living condition of the occupants.

According to him, the assembly had awarded a contract for the construction of toilet facilities for the occupants, explaining that the contractor was currently working on other projects and would begin the toilet project when he is done with the other projects.

"I can’t assure you when the contractor will actually commence work on the toilet facilities, but I'm aware that construction of the Junior Staff Quarters toilet facilities has been awarded on contract," he stated.

Mr Darkey also explained that plans were underway to renovate all the assembly’s bungalows.

He said management of the assembly, led by the then Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Madam Evelyn Ama Kumi-Richardson, had toured the facilities and had already rectified some of the problems and pledged the assembly’s commitment to fixing other problems occupants of the various assembly bungalows had been encountering.