- As Emergency National Refuse Evacuation exercise starts
The Northern Region Minister Salifu Saeed has given firm assurance that all aged refuse dump-sites in the region will be cleared.
Giving the assurance in an interview with the media at Nyohani South in the Tamale Metropolis, where the Emergency National Refuse Evacuation Exercise was kick-started on Tuesday, Mr. Saeed said: “Though we have many such aged dump-sites across the region, we will make sure they are all cleared to bring relief to residents in the region”.
According to him, the heaps of refuse found in the communities have been a major health concern for many years; and as part of government’s quest to rid the country of filth, the Emergency National Refuse Evacuation exercise was introduced to tackle the problem.
“We all know in this era of Coronavirus and other health concerns, we need to make sure our environment is clean so that our people will be safe from diseases,” he stressed.
The Regional Minister tasked the evacuators to make sure they do a good job to merit payment from government.⁶
Meanwhile, residents of Nyohani are expressing joy at the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry’s decision to clear a heap of refuse that has been tormenting them for months now.
The exercise is part of the Emergency national refuse evacuation exercise, and is being undertaken by the ministry to rid the country of aged dump-sites.
Assemblyman for the area, Yakubu Hamza – who spoke to the media at the Gukpelana Toilet where the ministry cleared a heap of refuse, said the exercise is coming at the right time.
He said: “This is a good thing, because the people have been suffering for a long time. We have been complaining about this, and so we are happy the ministry is doing this. As you can see yourself, the smell here is bad; and anytime they are cooking, it gets into their homes”.
Mr. Yakubu disclosed that the Gukpelana Toilet is not the only one with a refuse heap, but there are three others scattered in the electoral area which have similar challenges.
He said: “There are two more places in the area which need to be cleared. But for now, we are happy that this exercise is coming on”.
On how to ensure that that refuse is not accumulated again in the area, Mr. Yakubu said: “When this is done we will get another container in addition to what we have now, and I will ensure that no one throws rubbish around”.
A resident who gave his name as Nurideen expressed happiness at the evacuation exercise.
He said: “This is good for us, because sometimes when we are cooking polythene from the refuse site will be blown by the wind into our food. Even in our rooms, we cannot stand the stench from the toilet and refuse heap. We are therefore grateful for the gesture”.
A third resident who gave his name as Wuni told the media that a wall around the toilet and refuse container will help manage how people dump refuse at the place.
Three major dump-sites in Tamale Metropolis were evacuated on the operation’s first day: namely Changli, Nyohani and Kakpag-Yili, as the exercise also took place simultaneously in the other regions.
