KMA boss bemoans blatant disregard for environmental sanitation by-laws

The Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Samuel Pyne, has expressed concern about the blatant disregard for environmental sanitation by-laws among traders plying their businesses in the Central Business District.

According to him, the negative attitude of the traders, especially the haphazard dumping of refuse, is affecting the Assembly’s quest to restore the Metropolis to its former status as the Garden City of West Africa.

Mr. Sam Pyne disclosed this after he led the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly to embark on a massive clean-up exercise in Kumasi.

The six-hour exercise brought to light how some traders had turned the Central Business District drainage system into a waste disposal site, a practice leading to choking gutters with its attendant environmental and health implications.

Participants at the exercise led by the Kumasi Metropolitan environmental sanitation Department, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Aboyaa refuse collection Association, and Kumasi Petty Traders union had a hectic time dealing with the stench that emanated from the chocked gutters and stagnant liquid waste.

The clean-up was carried out in places including Dr. Mensah, Kejetia, Adum, Central market, Bantama, and Alabar.

Though most traders did not partake in the exercise, their shops remained closed until the activity was over.

Addressing the media, the Mayor of Kumasi, Mr. Sam Pyne, underscored the need for continued clean-up exercises to restore Kumasi to its former status as the Garden City of West Africa.

To this, the Assembly, with the help of three international partners, including the European Union, would build four composite and two recycle plants to address the sanitation situation in Kumasi.

He commended some of the traders who are affected by the ongoing construction of the second phase of Kejetia Central Market, saying the work is steadily progressive and would be completed in 2024.