Chief Akwannuasa Gyimah, MCE for Asokwa addressing the residents of Kuwait
The residents of Atonsu Kuwait, Oti and Dompoase, all communities in the Asokwa Municipality have praised the government for the decommissioning and the reengineering of the Oti Landfills.
The landfills is the only dumpsite within the Greater Kumasi area and used for the treatment of solid and liquid waste generated within and around the Kumasi Metropolitan area.
According to the residents, for a very long time now, they have suffered from the stench emanating from the landfills.
They said the surrounding communities also suffered from mosquito bites as the landfills served as a breeding ground for them and the managers have not been able to fumigate the fills and the communities as was promised them.
They therefore welcome the reengineering of the site and were hopeful that the new management would live up to expectation and also develop the communities for them.
SENSITIZATION:
The residents were speaking at one-day community sensitisation programme organised by the Asokwa Municipality assembly to educate the residents on the new project and the handing over of the project site to the contractor.
Addressing the residents, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Asokwa, Mr Akwannuasa Gyimah, said since assuming office, he has received complaints from the residents of Atonsu-Kuwait, Dompoase and Oti about the unbearable stench from the landfills and its associated challenges.
Thankfully, he said the government had got a new contractor, Zoomlion Ghana, to redevelop the site to make it more conducive and environmentally friendly for residents.
He said the new management contract would include all the fine details that would ensure that the residents were not short-changed as it happened in the past.
He was elated that one of the main challenges facing the people of the municipality would be soon be solved for life to return to normal for them.
TRADITIONAL LEADERS:
The traditional leaders from the affected communities also expressed satisfaction that finally the project was going to take off to bring relief to the residents.
They complained of the strong stench from the landfills and the bad nature of roads in the communities which makes life unbearable for the residents.
They prayed that the new contractor would not behave as the first one and leave the place unattended to and bring more untold hardships to the people.
ASSEMBLYMAN:
The assembly member for Atonsu Kuwait Electoral area, Mr Elliot Bannor Fosu described the project as a dream come true for the residents.
He said about a year ago, the residents went on a demonstration to register their displeasure to the government about the health hazard they were being exposed as a result of the landfills.
He said he has personally been pestering the assembly for the project and was happy that it has finally been handed over to a new management to reengineer the place and relieve the residents of the unbearable stench and the numerous mosquitoes that bite them daily.
BACKROUND:
The Oti landfills is one of the largest landfills in the country and covers a land area of 40 acres.
It was commissioned in 2004 under the Urban Environmental Sanitation Project Phase One (UESP I).
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