DAILY GRAPHIC, Thursday, July 12, 2012, Pg. 28. Residents appeal to Zoomlion to collect refuse.



The heap of waste littered around the public toilet at Korle-bu Sempe-Korlegonno



Story & Picture: Mary Ankrah

RESIDENTS and food vendors at Korle-bu Sempe-Korleguno, a suburb of Accra have called on Zoomlion to expedite the collection of refuse container in the area because it is emitting unpleasant odour in the vicinity. 

For more than a week now, the refuse container which has been placed close to a public toilet, has been overflowing with garbage.

Some of the residents who expressed their displeasure at the way Zoomlion Limited had been collecting the refuse at the area and called on Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to intervene as the container is close to the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital.

“The whole area is sinking and it is worse when it rains. The stench has become unbearable for us. The refuse breeds mosquitoes and flies which is not safe for our health”, a resident, Nii Ankrah complained to the Daily Graphic.

 

According to him, Zoomlion always collects of the refuse every weeks when the container has been filled to the brim.

Another resident, Juliet Okai, said Zoomlion always attributed the delay in the collection of the refuse to faulty vehicles and other pressing issues.

Two food vendors who trade along the Global Addo road, Naa Amerley, a beans seller and Suma, a kenkye seller, indicated that they are forced to operate under the insanitary conditions, so they have devised a means to protect their foods from contamination.

"The waste keep pilling every day; the waste managers don't do the collection in time and that is what is making the garbage pile up day in and day out", they noted.

A visit to the area showed residents dumping their household waste on the refuse pile around the container.

Some passers-by had also covered their noses and mouth with handkerchiefs to avoid the stench.

Cynthia Osei, another food vendor in the area complained about the recent development which, she said, had overwhelmed the area.

She said the problem required urgent attention and suggested that additional refuse container be sent to the area.

The caretaker of the refused dump, Samuel Tetteh Addo, explained that whenever the container was full, he alerts the Assemblyman and some authorities of Zoomlion Limited for collection but they usually delay.

“I sometimes call the Assemblyman and some authorities when Zoomlion do not come to collect the refuse on time and sometimes through persistent intervention they would finally come for the refuse”, he further stated.