The Bono Regional Minister, Justina Owusu-Banahene has re-echoed the urgent need for every landlord within the region to construct household toilet facilities to help eradicate open defecation.

She said landlords who failed to provide household toilets committed an offence punishable by law, therefore culprits within the region will be sanctioned accordingly.

The Bono Regional Minister gave the caution during a handing over ceremony of an 11-seater modern toilet with hand washing facilities and a mechanized borehole constructed for Saint Anselm Anglican Junior High School (JHS) in Sunyani.

Mrs. Owusu-Banahene said the Bono region is determined to attain open defecation free status, describing the practice as uncivilized and ought not to be tolerated in society, stressing “but we cannot achieve any success if household toilets are not available for tenants”.

She however expressed hope that the 11-seater modern toilet facility for Saint Anselm Anglican JHS will help in the eradication of open defecation among the school children.

For his part, Headmaster of the school, Nana Yaw Effah, said the project was funded at the cost of GHS 140, 000 by American Field Service (AFS) with support from the Rotary club and some other donors including the Anglican Church.

“Provision of this facility is in response to an appeal we made to the donors to get the previous toilet facility which was in a deplorable state replaced,” he noted.

Mr. Effah stated that the dilapidated old facility affected teaching and learning since teachers and students abandoned class to attend to nature’s call elsewhere, adding “now that we have this 11-seater toilet facility for both males and females with all the necessary addition, I think effective teaching and learning will become our hallmark”.

The Sunyani Municipal Director of Education, Theresa Kyereh, commended the school for the initiative and encouraged them to manage and maintain the facility well.