The convicts and other offenders
Eight (8) persons have been convicted by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for open defecation.
Seven of the convicts were remanded by the court after they failed to pay a fine of GH¢600 (50 penalty units) imposed by the court.
The convicts who were remanded are Samuel Aryeequaye, Evans Derry, Kwesi Milla, Richard Quintin Coffie, Seidu Aminu, Awuaaba Michael, and Quarcoo Ernest.
The eighth convict, Raphael Adjetey, was able to pay the fine imposed by the court and was subsequently released.
The convicts were arrested at Bubuashie, Jamestown, and Chorkor, as the Assembly intensified enforcement against unsanitary practices in the metropolis.
Head of Public Affairs at the AMA, Gilbert Nii Ankrah, indicated that Environmental Health Officers arrested the offenders during a nighttime operation led by the Head of the Environmental Health Department, Florence Kuukyi.
He said the AMA Environmental Health Department had commenced 24-hour operations to ensure compliance with sanitation by-laws, adding that officers had sustained day-and-night monitoring to curb public nuisance and protect public health.
He urged residents to desist from open defecation and use approved sanitary facilities, warning that the Assembly would continue arrests and prosecutions to deter offenders.
BY Gibril Razak