TaMA to enforce sanitation by-laws

The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) has constituted a task force to enforce sanitation by-laws in the metropolis.

The task force, to be deployed on the streets, communities and in all homes, is expected to work day and night to arrest and impose spot fines on people who defecate in the open, as well as landlords who failed to construct toilet facilities in their homes after the end of a moratorium declared by the assembly.

Persons who are found culpable and fail to pay the spot fine will be processed for court.

Extension of moratorium

The assembly has also extended its four-month moratorium which was declared for landlords to construct household toilets by the end of May 2018; it has given an additional two weeks to those who could not construct within the period to do so.

The acting Coordinating Director of the TaMA, Mr Abdul-Rahaman B. Ahmed, disclosed this at a press conference in Tamale last Friday.

He said the extension of the moratorium was due to the numerous concerns received by the assembly and the low enthusiasm and interest for some landlords to construct toilet facilities.

“The metropolitan assembly has noted some minimal level of enthusiasm and interest on the part of some landlords to construct toilets in their homes, for which reason the assembly will allow two weeks grace period beginning from June 1 to June 14, 2018 as a last opportunity for those who could not construct within the period to do so,” he stated.

Mr Ahmed urged all landlords in the metropolis to comply with the directive or risk being fined and processed for court by the task force.

“A task force is being constituted to be deployed across the length and breath of the metropolis to locate non-compliant landlords and issue summons to them and process them for court,” he stated.

Sensitisation

Mr Ahmed indicated that the assembly would embark on a sensitisation programme on various media platforms within the two weeks period to educate residents on the relevance on the by-laws on sanitation and household toilets.

It is also expected to further whip up public interest and enthusiasm for the construction of household toilets in the metropolis.

He has, therefore, appealed to the chiefs, clergy and other relevant stakeholders to support the assembly to improve on sanitation in the metropolis.

Public toilets

Touching on the construction of public toilets, the Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, Mr Issah Salifu Musah, said the assembly had stopped constructing toilet facilities for residents per the new directive by the government, but it would rehabilitate all existing ones in the metropolis for public use.

He stressed that the assembly’s enforcement drive had no political colour and would be enforced to the letter, as the sanitation issues in the metropolis were mainly an attitudinal problem.