Epidemic threatens Kumasi
Kumasi is faced with a potential epidemic outbreak as a result of difficulties the KMA is encountering in getting sites to dump refuse. Where sites are available, the authorities cannot also get trucks to cart them.
As a result of this, mountains of refuse have started piling up at the various refuse dumps within the metropolis.
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For the past two weeks, the Waste Management Department of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has tried unsuccessfully to negotiate with the chiefs and elders of some communities at the outskirts of Kumasi to dump refuse there.
Last Saturday, the youth of Aburaso, near Kumasi, defied the presence of the Kumasi Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, and the personnel of the Police Striking Force, and threatened to attack personnel of the Waste Management Department if they dared send any truck to dump refuse on any parcel of land within the community.
The youth and elders of the community had earlier agreed to allow the KMA to dump refuse at selected sites, in return for "places of convenience, market and other social amenities".
A source close to the KMA who disclosed this to the Graphic in an interview, said if the situation continues for another week, there would be an epidemic outbreak in the metropolis.
The source said this is because the various refuse dumps in the metropolis would heap up, making it easy for insects to transmit communicable diseases to nearby houses.
The source said the situation might get out of hand because at the moment, the KMA has only two old trucks to cart the refuse if even management is able to negotiate successfully for a place to dump the refuse.
According to the source, almost all the KMA tipper trucks as well as the pay loaders have broken down, and this would also affect the carting of the refuse that are still pilling up.
The source said apart from Aburaso, the Waste Management Department has also contacted the elders of Afrancho, Asuofua, and Magazine, without success. It said previously they dumped the refuse at Kwapra but the area is completely filled up.
It said the KMA has a big site at Dompoase, where they could have dumped the refuse, but excavation work is still in progress, so they need a temporary site to dump the refuse.
Commenting on the situation, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mr Maxwell Kofi Jumah, said the situation is under control, as the trucks would start carting the refuse by Wednesday.
He said even though the KMA has acquired a permanent site at Dompoase to dump refuse, constructional work is still underway, hence there is the need to get a temporary place where refuse would be dumped to ensure a clean environment in the metropolis.
Mr Jumah said there is a chieftaincy dispute at Aburaso and that explains why the people refused to allow the KMA to dump the refuse there, but gave the assurance that at the moment his outfit has resolved the problem to pave way for the KMA to cart refuse to a selected site.
He confirmed that the community asked for a market and KVIP places of convenience among other things as compensation before allowing the KMA to dump the refuse at the site and assured that the KMA had agreed to their request.
He said apart from Aburaso, the KMA is also negotiating with elders of Aboabo and another community at the Kwabre District to dump refuse there.
He said residents in the metropolis have become alarmed about the problems of carting refuse because they have now become used to clean environment and the recent situation is alarming them.
He assured that there is no cause for alarm because the situation would return to normal very soon. On the breakdown of the trucks, Mr Jumah denied the allegation and said as soon as negotiations become successful, there would be no problem about trucks because they have sufficient trucks to cart refuse from all refuse dumps in the metropolis.
