Offinso South: Kayera Borlaho Residents Blast MCE, Assembly Member Over Choked Refuse Dump And Abandoned Projects
Residents of Kayera Borlaho, popularly known as Asante Line, in the Offinso South Municipality of the Ashanti Region, have blasted the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Frank Owusu Amoah, and the Kayera Assembly Member, Hon. Iddrisu, over the deteriorating sanitation and development situation in the community.
The residents, who are demanding the immediate evacuation of a huge refuse dump that has engulfed their neighbourhood, accused both the MCE and the Assembly Member of turning deaf ears to their persistent cries for intervention.
According to the residents, the refuse dump, which has been left at an un-engineered open site close to homes, schools and markets, has become a major public health and environmental threat, breeding mosquitoes, houseflies and rodents, and leading to rising cases of malaria, cholera, typhoid and skin infections.
They also complained of unbearable odour and toxic smoke from open burning of refuse, clogged drains causing flash floods, and leachate seeping into the soil and contaminating underground water sources.
Beyond the sanitation crisis, the residents launched a scathing attack on the Assembly Member for the area, Hon. Iddrisu, whom they described as non-performing.
They accused him of selling community property belonging to Kayera, making reference to streetlight bulbs meant for Kayera which they allege he sold to the Abofour New Market Junction electoral area Assembly Member .
The residents further accused Hon. Iddrisu of abandoning a Police Station project which was started with personal funds by his predecessor for the Kayera community. According to them, instead of completing the project to improve security in the area, the Assembly Member is campaigning that he will use the police station as a yardstick to arrest the youth in the community, especially those involved in drug-related activities.
They described the Assembly Member’s conduct as a betrayal of trust and a setback to the development of Kayera Borlaho.
The aggrieved residents also expressed disappointment in the MCE, Hon. Frank Owusu Amoah, for failing to act despite numerous appeals, calling on him, His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama, and philanthropists to urgently intervene.
They stressed that waste management goes beyond putting rubbish into a bin and requires proper collection, transportation, sorting, treatment, recycling and safe disposal, and that failure to evacuate the refuse could trigger a major disease outbreak.
They have therefore called for immediate evacuation of the dump, completion of the abandoned police station, accountability for the alleged diverted street bulbs, and provision of proper waste containers and regular collection for the community.
