In spite of efforts by the government of Ghana and stakeholders in the water and sanitation sector to end open defecation in the northern region, residents of the Zohe West electoral area in the Yendi municipality insist they cannot stop the practice.
This is because the only public toilet facility in the area described by residents as a death trap has been in a deplorable state for well over five years.
Residents say they have stopped using the facility for almost six months because of its deplorable state made much worse by numerous defects such as cracks on the walls and in the floor. As a consequence, residents say they resort to open defecation, a situation that could possibly lead to the outbreak of sanitation related diseases.
According to the residents, the assemblyman for the area promised to solve the problem but so far, nothing has materialized. “Our elderly people find it difficult to walk from their homes to the bush to ease themselves, compelling them to engage in open defecation around their houses,” a resident lamented.
They pointed out that the authorities of the Yendi municipal assembly just pay lip service to the problem and have not exactly shown any concern about their predicament despite numerous complaints lodged with them. Stories are the only support they offer us, residents added. They appealed passionately to the assemblyman for the Zohe West electoral area to intensify his efforts at ending the problem.
By Ibrahim Timtooni/zaaradio.com