Pokrom-Nsaba cries for help

Residents of Pokrom-Nsaba, a farming community near Nsawam in the Eastern Region, are battling with basic social amenities which is making life unbearable for them.

Lack of potable water, poor drainage systems, a health facility and inadequate classroom blocks for the only school in the area, are just a few of the problems in the area.

According to them, they walk several kilometres each day in search of potable water because only one borehole serves the about 4,000 members of the community.

There is also a mountain of rubbish with its accompanying stench sitting in the middle of the community.

The residents said the myriad of challenges in the town had led to various health complications including blindness.

They said several attempts to get the appropriate authorities to help fix the problems have either fallen on deaf ears or been completely ignored.

When The Mirror visited the community, it was observed that the Presbyterian Primary and Junior Secondary schools lacked classrooms to accommodate the increasing number of pupils.

Some of the school blocks were in bad shape and appeared not to have received any renovation for decades.

Problems

In an interview, the Assembly Member of the area, Mr Daniel Amaadi Ahwireng, said the residents were not happy about the general situation in the town.

“We are facing many challenges, but the authorities are not paying attention to our concerns. We have huge challenges with water, sanitation and classroom blocks for our children in the town,” he said.

Mr Ahwireng said that whenever the dry season sets in, they were compelled to drink from unwholesome sources, “because we have nowhere to go for water.”

Though he acknowledged that the only borehole in the town was recently provided by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Akuapem South, Mr O. B. Amoah, he said it was not enough.

Land for new refuse damp

The Chief of Pokrom-Nsaba, Nana Toah Djan II, said the residents resorted to disposing of rubbish at a particular part of the town because there were no litter bins.

“Even though we have applied for litter bins from Zoomlion Company to solve the situation, we are yet to receive any response,” he said.

Nana Toah Djan assured that he was prepared to release land to be used as refuse dump, but urgently needed the assistance of the government and stakeholders in that regard.