[ 2014-09-15 ]

Gbawe Residents Mad At AMA Over Dump Site
Residents of Gbawe- Buleimli, Upper Weija and
sonitra in the Greater Accra region and the Member
of Parliament (MP) for Weija, Rosemond C. Abrah
have criticized the decision by the Accra
Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and government to
create an alternative refuse site at sonitra.

According to them, the move could lead to the
contamination of both surface and ground water.

They claimed the proposed site is 10 meters away
from the Bailey stream, which is the main source
of drinking water for the residents.

At a public rally on Saturday to update members of
the communities on developmental and social
projects, members of Buleimli-Sonitra Joint
Residents Association (BSJRA), a coordinating
council for six associations, representing
residents of the Gbawe Buleimli-Sonitra in an
enclave of over 700 households, disclosed that
dumping refuse in the Sonitra pit could lead to
health crisis.

It would recalled that the AMA announced a couple
of weeks ago in the wake of the cholera outbrea
that it had acquired two new alternative dumping
sites in the Ga South and Ga West Municipal
Assemblies respectively in addition to the Kpone
Katamanso refuse site.

But the residents have noted that the dumping
refuse at the site would endanger their health.

The Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the
associations, Iaasc Acquaye, in a statement,
indicated that the residents were unhappy with the
decision of the government and AMA.

According to him, AMA took the decision in a
desperate attempt to clean Accra to tackle the
outbreak of cholera that had reportedly killed
over 115 persons.

He stressed that they blatantly failed to realize
that dumping refuse in the Buliemli-Sonitra area
could lead to an outbreak of disease in the area
as well.

'Pipe water do not really flow within these
communities and the only source of water for us is
the Bailey river. And if the government and AMA
should move ahead to dump refuse at the pit, it
will further signify how careless they are about
we the ordinary people,' Frank Okai Kyei, a
resident of Gbawe Buleimli told DAILY GUIDE.

Ms. Abrah vowed not to sit aloof for the AMA and
government to endanger the lives of her
constituents for their “own selfish gains.”

She disclosed that AMA failed to consider the
health problems it would pose to the people.

The MP further disclosed that aside the health
issue, school-children around the pit could be hit
by heavy trucks since the pit is said to be
surrounded by 20 schools.

To this end, the residents have petitioned the
government, AMA and the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), through their legal experts, to
reverse the decision.

Source - Daily Guide

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