Poor sanitary conditions worrying Tamale residents
Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, is still facing a lot of development challenges in spite of its recognition as one of the fastest- growing cities in the country and indeed the West African sub-region.
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Even though the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) was considered to have put up the best performance last year among assemblies in the country, it is still bogged down by poor infrastructure. There are deplorable access roads, a run-down public lighting system, erratic water supply, paticularly in the central business district, and general insanitary conditions.
Apart from the central business district and surrounding areas that have asphalt roads, remote settlements in the fast-expanding metropolis deplorable roads.
Management of waste
The city has a fair amount of buildings with modern architectural designs but beneath the flamboyance lies the problem of improper management of both solid and liquid waste, which is attributable to the lack of a publicly recognised waste-dumpsite and inadequate number of public places of convenience.
To a number of residents interviewed by the Daily Graphic, the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) had not lived up to its responsibility of ensuring that the people living in the city were provided with functional social services. The residents also complained about the disorderly and uneven development of the city.
In a move to solve the worrying insanitary conditions and prevent people from throwing refuse into drains, some residents have suggested that the assembly place the 400 litterbins it was given by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), at vantage points where they could be accessed.
Some community members of Warziahi and Gumhibini, both suburbs of Tamale, have requested the TaMA to complete the construction of a storm drain that was begun in the communities sometime ago for the purposes of easing the perennial flooding experienced in the area each time it rained heavily.
Environmental health officers
They urged the assembly to send environmental health officers to the community to check the menace of indiscriminate dumping of human excreta in black plastic bags into drains.
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People living in other suburbs such as Nyohini and Sheshegu fear for their health if a solution is not found to the poor sanitary conditions in the area. According to them, for sometime now the metropolitan assembly had failed to evacuate waste piled up in the communities.
A resident, Adishetu Nabilla, who could not hide her frustration, noted that the situation was worrying and said they feared particularly for the lives of their children.
"We are afraid that if things are not corrected before the rains set in, our health would be affected. In fact, we are worried, especially over cholera as our children would be the worst affected,” she said.
Gbalahi landfill site
Meanwhile, people living in Gbalahi where landfill site is situated, are complaining about filth and the pollution of their only source of drinking water.
According to the residents, waste from the landfill site is washed into their source of drinking water, affecting the quality of water and consequently their health.
Yakubu Grundoo, a resident, had this to say: "We are facing a serious risk here. Should there be an outbreak of cholera many of us would lose our lives."