Lack of toilet facilities in the Sokwai community in Atwima Nwabiagya North District of the Ashanti Region has pushed the residents to engage in open defecation.
That’s according to Mr Collins Nsiah Junior, Assembly Member of Pasro-Sokwai Electoral Area. Mr Nsiah who disclosed this to Silver Fm’s Akwadaa during an interview in Sokwai.
He said lack of toilet facilities is making living conditions unbearable in the community and noted that the District Assembly is yet to respond to an appeal to provide basic amenities in the community, especially toilet facilities.
Mr Collins Nsiah called for prompt support from the government, philanthropists, and other stakeholders to help address the menace by providing them with modern toilet facilities to improve sanitation in the area.
Residents in Sokwai, which is a farming community, have for years resorted to attending nature’s call in the bush and open places.
Some of the residents also expressed concern about the practice, admitting that it has health implications. They explain that when it rains the fecal matter is washed into the rivers they depend on for drinking and cooking.
The residents described the the lack of toilets in the community as a threat to their health, noting that it has made their lives uncomfortable.
Silver News gathered that Sokwai is amongst the numerous communities in the Atwima Nwabiagya North District that have not been privileged to have toilet facilities.
Madam Esther Boateng, a resident said, “can you believe that in this 21st century, where technology has advanced, we still go to the bush to ease ourselves?
Madam Esther added that, as an aged person, the lack of toilet facilities is of great concern to her as she sometimes inconvenienced herself while rushing to the nearest bush.
Some residents observed that they feel ashamed when visitors to the community request to use the toilet and they have to be directed to the bush.
According to them in addition to the lack of toilet facilities, potable drinking water is also a great problem for them. The residents therefore appealed to the government and the District Assembly to provide them with the needed facilities to prevent an outbreak of cholera in the area.
“The painful thing is that we are the very people who pollute the water, not others. And it is because we lack toilet facilities in the community,” the aggrieved residents said.
Source:Mybrytfmonline.com
