Four adjoining communities in the Kwahu West municipality of the Eastern Region are mounting pressure on their Municipal Chief Executive, Yaw Owusu Addo, to stop the disposal of refuse at the municipality’s landfill site.
The four communities include Asona, Saafi, Awenade and Esaase. These communities surround the dumping site located at Kwahu Asona near Nkawkaw in the same municipality.
Youth leader in the Asona community, Isaac Kofi Boateng, said “they begun disposing faecal matter into the community and now it’s refuse. You will find all sorts of waste at the site: syringes, pints of wasted blood and other hospital wastes. When they burn the rubbish too the smoke pervades the whole area, which are all not good for our health”.
They have in effect given two weeks ultimatum to the authorities to relocate the landfill site or they will demonstrate against using the site.
According to the assemblyman for Darnteng Asona electoral area, Joseph Ameyaw, they have recorded a death as result of cholera in the area, attributable to the refuse.
“We started complaining and calling for ban on dumping refuse at the site since the tenure of Mr. Obeng Somua but we saw no action, and Yaw Owusu Addo too, but till date nothing has been done” he said, adding “so I am supporting the youth and the leaders of the communities to drum home our displeasure.”
On his part, Asona Krontihene, Nana Yaw Obeng Kwahu said for about 20 years of dumping on the site, the communities have had not benefit from it.
According to him, houseflies and other inserts invade their homes whenever they spray the site, a situation which is not good for their health.
“We are unable to eat comfortably, because wherever you turn flies are all over you. We are really suffering here and those responsible are not paying attention to us,” he said.
He therefore called on the the authorities of the assembly to do something about it if not the chiefs have nothing to do than succumb to the wrath of the youth.
