Whilst the people of the Osudoku electoral area and its surrounding areas are pleading with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to clear a refuse dump which is now spreading to the road side around the Regal cinema, some miscreants have turned the site into places of abode. Apart from the refuse dump, the fact that it has not been cleared for the past two months, posing health danger to the people, the presence of the squatters is creating serious problems for the people who live around the area. Some of them have turned the area into a den for smoking Indian hemp. Criminals in the area engage in snatching properties of innocent people, whilst some jump on women, especially, young girls and rape them. A visit to the site last week, saw more than 50 people who use the refuse dump for various activities with some just idling around, a situation that has led to the closure of the Manhyia cluster of schools for sometime now, and leaving only one JSS class. This is because criminals have taken over the classrooms while some families too, live in the rooms available. In view of the deplorable state of the refuse which is mounting and spreading in the area daily, it is feared that there could be an outbreak of an epidemic at any moment if prompt action is not taken to clear the refuse quickly. Adding to the situation, is a public toilet located on the same parcel of land, which is being inhabited by an old man of over 70 years and his family, who claims to be working for the contractors responsible for the toilet. The cause of the pile up of the refuse at the site is as a result of the fact that the AMA has allegedly not been able to pay the contractor, Messrs Asadu Royal Waste Management, and so the company had suspended operations until such time that AMA clears the debt owed it, Times investigations revealed at the Assembly. In an interview, Emmanuel N. Adumuah, Assemblyman for the area said that the issue of sanitation had been very thorny for quite some time and said he had written several letters to the appropriate quarters to that effect. He noted that apart from writing the letters, he had consistently pursued them and in spite of the numerous promises to address the situation, the situation continued to aggravate. He noted that due to the amount of waste the site accommodates, there was always an overflow, adding that business in the area also generated large quantities of waste which is conveyed to the refuse dump, sometimes twice daily. Solid waste he noted was littered around when the containers were full with liquid waste also dumped into the big gutter just between the sanitary site, the cluster of schools and a pharmaceutical factory. On the issue of the public toilet, which had become a dwelling place for the caretaker, Mr. Adumuah hinted that for the past couple of years the contractor, Messrs Jabstech limited, had disappeared and no one knows who manages the place. He stated that due to the stench from the refuse dump and those littered around, defecating on the site as well as other vices go on in the adjacent cluster of schools. He said two out of the three classroom blocks have virtually closed down. He noted that with the consequent closure of the refuse dump to be replaced with the house-to-house refuse collection, the Ghana Education Service would be able to revive the only cluster of schools in the area which has been the concern of his electorates. The Assemblyman mentioned other matters that were of serious concern and needed to be addressed urgently to avoid any eventualities. They included too much noise making in front of papaye Fastfoods located on the Oxford Street, invasion of the Oxford street by all manner of traders such as vegetables, fresh fish and foodstuff traders, mechanical workshops and garages as well as the nuisance of truck pushers who convey refuse from house-to-house at a fee and drop them in some parts of the area. When contacted, Ben Mensah Laryea, Head of the Metro Waste Management Department of the AMA, said the problem of the Assembly’s inability to pay contractors engaged in waste management was due to the fact that the people who generate the waste do not want to pay for its management. Source: The Ghanaian Times