DAILY GRAPHIC, Tuesday, April 10, 2012, Pg. 28. Sanitation and Moyor Court prosecutes over 200 cases

Story: Mary Ankrah

MORE than 200 persons who flouted the directive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to construct household places of convenience, have appeared before the Sanitation and Motor Court at Abeka in Accra since October, 2011.

The Sanitation and Motor court, set up by the AMA in 2010, has the jurisdiction under the criminal code 1960, to try cases such as indiscriminate dumping of waste, causing noise pollution, obstruction of public way, slaughtering cows/animals elsewhere other than the approved places, selling unwholesome food or allowing cattle and other animals to go astray.

Similarly, the motor courts under road traffic Act 2004 act 683 tries cases on dangerous driving, driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, among other cases.

The AMA directed that all home owners in Accra should construct household toilet facilities by February 2012 or face prosecution. Between February and March 2012, 82 persons flouted the directives and  appeared before the Sanitation and Motor Court. Twenty-four of them later complied with the directive.

The court presided over by Judge Emmanuel Antwi-Barima imposed fines ranging between GH¢120 and GH¢300 on the accused persons who could not meet the AMA’s deadline of February, 2012.

They are to re-appear in court on April 19 and 30, 2012.

According to Judge Antwi-Barima, all the accused persons who appeared before the court were instructed to “complete the construction of a hygienic place of convenience and present a report, including pictures, to the court” by the deadline.

He cautioned to all those who had not completed on the due date, adding that the court would deal with them, since open defecation by people living in homes without toilet facilities posed a health hazards to the community.

 An accused person, Sarah Lartey, who was found to have lied to the court that she had constructed a toilet for her tenants was charged for purjury by the court.

Sarah presented pictures of a completed facility to the court, which investigators later found to be forged.