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The Ledzokuku Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) will prosecute children who dump rubbish indiscriminately, especially by the side of the road and in gutters.

According to the assembly, most of the children sent by their parents to dump refuse at designated sites rather dispose them into gutters and along the road.

Speaking at a town hall meeting for residents of Teshie in Accra last Monday, the Municipal Development Planning Officer of LEKMA, Mr Kofi Taylor-Appiah, said the initiative was one of the steps the assembly was taking to improve the sanitation condition in the municipality.

Residents’ participation

The meeting was to enhance the residents’ participation in the local government system as well as review the mid-year budget of the assembly.

Most of the issues that were raised by the participants bordered on sanitation and the drainage system in the municipality.

While some participants recommended measures to ensure sanitation in the municipality, others maintained that the assembly built day care centres in the various communities in the municipality to enhance education.

During the interaction, it came to light that the assembly had spent GH¢96,000 this year to ensure sanitation in the municipality.

Health implications

Mr Taylor-Appiah said when children were prosecuted, their parents would have to face the law and, therefore, warned parents to advise their children to stop dumping refuse by the road side when they were sent to take it to the dumpsite.

“We want them to know that dumping refuse in gutters has health implications on the whole community. If someone gets cholera it affects others and we are also arranging to provide every household with a toilet to reduce open defecation.”

“We are also trying to provide more containers in strategic locations but it is up to them to deposit refuse in them,” he said.

The Municipal Chief Executive at LEKMA, Mrs Evelyn Twum-Gyamrah, urged the residents to attach importance to government policies that affected them, particularly the one-district, one-factory; one-constituency, one-million dollars; and making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

“I am emphasising these programmes because their selection is highly participatory. The final choice of the programmes by a community will be subjected to sustainability analyses by a technical team. The recommendations of the technical team will be made available to the residents before they are put on the drawing board for implementation,” she explained.

She assured the participants of the assembly’s commitment in dealing with their requests and recommendations for the development of the municipality.