Regional News of Wednesday, 11 May 2022
Source: Mensah B. Ruth
2022-05-11Ellembelle: Nvuma residents call on CODA to complete abandoned toilet
File photo
Some angry residents of Nvuma community in the Ellembelle district of the Western region have called on the Coastal Development Authority (CODA) as a matter of urgency to complete the abandoned toilet facility in the area to prevent them from defecating indiscriminately.
The ten-seater-water closet toilet facility was started in 2018 by CODA and since then it has been
Read full articleabandoned.
The abandoned facility is now served as a habitat for lizards, snakes, and other reptiles.
Speaking to the youth leader of the community, Seth Berko disclosed that during the 2020 general elections, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Ellembelle District, Francis Kwasi Bonzoh came to the community and promised to complete the project.
"This the toilet facility that was started in 2018, the District Chief Executive Hon Kwasi Bonzoh delegated some people from the Assembly to come and cut sod for the toilet. Work started progressively, everything was on point, they were busy working on the toilet facility that we were hoping that within the stipulated time given by the DCE that is 12 months they would have executed this contract. It is unfortunate, it is shocking that from 2018 to 2022 that we are right now, this is the nature of the toilet we are talking about right now", he lamented.
He added that, "The most unfortunate thing is that when you come to this community there isn't a place that we can go there to ease ourselves. As a matter of fact the people have resulted to open defecation in the bushes, in fact, at unexpected places".
Seth Berko took the opportunity and appealed passionately to the Coastal Development Authority, the funding agent to direct the contractor to return to the site and complete the project.
"We are calling on Costal Development Authority because we heard they are the funding agent of this project. So as a matter of urgency to complete the toilet to aid of the good people of Nvuma", he urged.
He therefore, quizzed, "If the contract too has been taken from CODA and given to the central government then we are calling on the District Chief Executive because in 2020 he came to the community and even made a promise that as he was leaving here today the next two weeks he would come and start working on the said project".
He also called on the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to instruct CODA and the DCE to complete the project for them.
"And like I said earlier on till this time the contractor has left the site, every material that he brought to work on the contract has been taken away, so we are calling on the authorities, His excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, if he is listening to us then as a matter of urgency, he should instruct either the CODA or his DCE in the person of Hon Kwasi Bonzoh to come and complete this project for us", he stated.
He concluded, "Because the good people of Nvuma are having problem when it comes to easing themselves in this community".
Some of the youth who spoke to the media lamented that a manhole behind the toilet has been left opened and serving as a death trap.
"... there is a manhole here, the last time a small boy was passing-by and if not for the intervention of a certain man like he would have been died in the manhole as he fell in it", they revealed.
"So we are calling on government and CODA or whoever to come and complete the project for us because we don't have a place to ease ourselves and if you get toilet roll and get to road side then you ease yourself. All because we don't have toilet so we are calling on government especially Nana Addo and DCE to come and complete our toilet for us because we need it badly", they pleaded.
They were optimistic that, "As the media has come here we know everyone will hear our cry since the media is the mouthpiece of every community so as you have come we know that those who will hear will hear. So they should come to our aid to complete the project for us".
They claimed that the community has not been benefiting from successive government since they started voting in public elections.
"As you can see they started this project in 2018, it is very bad even the people on Nvuma community do not have a place to ease themselves why?. When it is election time then they will bring their electoral materials to Nvuma community to vote for them, why are they doing this?", they quizzed.
" The DCE is just at Nkroful, he has been coming here but he doesn't care about us so we want to state clear that if this abandoned toilet is not completed before the 2024 general elections, we will advise ourselves, we will not vote at all", they stated.
