The Ho Municipal Assembly (HMA) has given a four-month ultimatum to households and institutions without toilet and hand washing facilities to fix the anomaly.

A public notice signed by Mr Nelson Akorli, Ho Municipal Chief Executive, said failure to comply with the directive, which is in consonance with the Assembly’s bye-law under the Public Health Laws on Sanitation and Waste Management and the provisions of the National Building Regulations, would result in the Assembly exercising its prosecutorial powers.

Mr Akorli said open defecation is very high in the Municipality with only 25 per cent of households having access to improved toilet and hand washing facilities, hence the initiative.

He said the Assembly in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the Netherlands under the Urban Sanitation Project is expecting toilet coverage in the Municipality to reach 80 per cent after the expiration of the ultimatum in January next year.

Mr Akorli called on the people “to act as citizens and not spectators in the fight against open defecation and poor sanitation practices in the Ho Municipality”.

Mr Aaron K. Amedzo, Environmental Health Officer, HMA, said the project which would be implemented in four zones comprising 16 electoral areas was geared at improving the survival and health of urban children through improved Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services.

He said at the end of the project 45,150 people were expected to use improved toilet facilities and practice hand washing with soap; 21,000 households should have constructed latrines and 3,000 children in 12 basic schools should have access to improved use of WASH facilities.