There is a fear of the outbreak of an epidemic at Korledzen in the Yilo Krobo Municipality in the Eastern Region as the people resort to open defecation due to the danger posed by an abandoned KVIP facility in the community.
According to the inhabitants of the community, the only KVIP facility in the community, which is over 40 years old, has outlived its usefulness, thereby serving as a death trap for them.
They said the abandoned facility, which serves three suburbs at Somanya – Korledzen, Terpuosi and Social Welfare– has become weak and exposes the faecal matter.
Compounding the problem is an overflowing waste container for the collection of refuse at Terpuosi.
Wastes from the facility have spread all over the area towards the KVIP, which some people still risk their lives to use as it is the only one standing in the area.
The abandoned KVIP and the overflowing container have resulted in an overwhelming stench in the area, and pose as a health hazard to the people.
The situation has been made worse by the recent rains and drizzles.
“Those who are still using the toilet as it is now are risking their lives and if they continue and anything happens, they have no one to blame.
That is why we have the adage that ‘prevention is better than cure’,” Stephen Teye Korley of the Korledzen community told the Daily Graphic.
According to the community members, they made several appeals through their previous assembly members but nothing has been done about the situation and it has come to a stage where they needed to advise themselves as a community and therefore open defecation was one of the measures some of them have taken.
When the Daily Graphic engaged a 27-year-old Michael Kofi Asare in a discussion at the toilet last Thursday on his way to attend to nature’s call, he described their toilet situation as horrible.
He explained that upon several appeals made through their assembly members for the Korledzen Electoral area, nothing concrete has been achieved.
When he took the Daily Graphic on a tour inside and outside the toilet facility, there were a lot of cracks and the stench that greeted us was a pity.
According to him, “some of us are aware of the health implication of open defecation and that is why we are managing it.
If you like, I can take you around some of the houses closer to the bush where there is evidence of open defecation”.
Investment
The Yilo Krobo Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Eric Tetteh, when contacted, said, the assembly has decided not to invest in any public toilets because of the way the managers of the toilets were handling them, without generating any income for the assembly.
He said the assembly, on the other hand, was encouraging private people to express interest in the management of public toilets to negotiate with the assembly to see the way forward.
“As an assembly, we are advising people who have already built their houses to create space for toilets in them to avoid all these inconveniences.
Let me emphasise that henceforth, nobody with a new plan to put up a building without a toilet facility will be permitted by the assembly,” Mr Tetteh said.
SOURCE: GraphicOnline
