2023-05-06
The Municipal Environment Health Office of the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly has embarked on a massive clean-up exercise at Odorkor market and its environs in the Greater Accra Region.
Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly is one of the 18 assemblies under the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project (GARID)
The exercise was held in collaboration with the office of the assembly member of the Odorkor electoral area, Mr. Ismael Kwao.
Participants were seen clearing rubbish, desilting choked drains, and removing refuse from the edges of gutters in the surroundings.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer(MEHO), Madam Harriet Krakue said the exercise was very necessary to stem the wave of flooding incidents in the area in anticipation of the rains to meet the objective of GARRID.
She said Accra is a low-lying area including Ablekuma North adding that freeing the drains and gutters of filth would alleviate flooding.
Under the GARID project, she said the assembly has received the requisite tools and equipment to enable it achieve the intended objective in the area.
She said desilting the drains of choked materials would allow for free passage of water anytime it rains which means the incident of flooding would be curbed to a considerable extent.
Prior to the exercise, she said there was a sensitization exercise by environmental officers to inform residents of the upcoming event in order for them to hold themselves in readiness for participation.
The MEHO, said recalcitrant residents were issued with notices to come out to work or face prosecution for non-compliance.
According to her, the exercise would be done on a monthly basis in order to ensure that a larger area was covered to mitigate the incident of flooding.
She urged the public to ensure that their households register with accredited waste management services for regular pickup and disposal to forestall any incident of indiscriminate disposal.
Madam Harriet Krakue disclosed that the assembly's plans to expand the gutters and drains were being done on a gradual basis to reduce the magnitude of the flooding incident.
On his part, the assembly member, Mr. Ishmael Quao, said his outfit would continue the daily monitoring of sanitation practices and scheduled clean-up exercises initiated by his office to support the overall objective.
He bemoaned the fact that the drainage system in the area was very poor which continues to have a toll on the environment.