Former MCE decries poor maintenance culture of assemblies
A former Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA), Mr David Annang, has expressed concern over the poor maintenance culture at the assembly.
Advertisement
According to him, a national asset such as a sewer system serving communities had been allowed to break down for lack of maintenance, posing a health hazard to residents of Tema.
Living Machine
Mr Annang stated that the sewer system, christened the Living Machine and which cost US$175,000, was a donation from Worrel Water Technology in Virginia, USA.
He explained that it was to help treat sewer and also prevent untreated waste from entering the sea.
He expressed regret that the project, which started in 2007, was allowed to work for a while and then left to deteriorate to its current state.
Mr Annang said the system was a central sewage processing plant expected to serve as a filtration plant by sieving solid waste substances from sewer collected from the two communities in Tema and re-directed into another system for processing for agricultural use.
"It is very sad that such a critical facility has been left to go waste, despite the investment made," he noted.
Replacement of the project
Mr Annang, although disappointed, was quick to add that there was the need to revamp it, or, most importantly, replace the whole system to serve the two communities.
Other Trending Stories
He was of the view that the system, the first of its kind to be implemented in Tema, would have been introduced in other communities after its success.
He said such projects in the metropolis must not be allowed to go waste, since the population of the metropolis kept increasing due to the quest for jobs and the demand for urbanisation.
"Tema has lost its former glory as a Port City, especially with the attitude of neglect and lack of maintenance culture by the people," he stressed.
Negative effect
Mr Annang said he was worried that when the rains set in and the project was not looked at, the whole sewage and effluence that got out of homes would go back into such homes.
The Head of Waste Management Department of the TMA, Mr Solomon Noi, said he was hopeful that the problem could be rectified with the right commitment from stakeholders.
He noted that an entire change of the system would make it functional and bring some form of relief to residents around the area.