A 60-year-old refuse dump in the Droboso District of Wenchi Municipality of the Bono Region which posed environmental hazards has finally be cleared to the relief of the residents.
The national evacuation exercise being spearheaded by the Ministry of Sanitation & Water Resources in collaboration with the district assemblies forms part of government’s effort to rid the towns and cities of filth in the era of Covid-19 and fine-tune its waste management strategy.
The dumpsites cleared yesterday included one at Droboso which was believed to be over 60 years as well as the Asuano dumpsite, also over 50 years, and the Kwase dumpsite.
Residents were elated to see the problems solved and said they will be somehow free from being bitten by mosquitoes which spread diseases like malaria.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Wenchi, Dr. Patrick Kwakye Afriyie, said the evacuation of three dumpsites in the municipality forms part of government’s priorities to ensure that dumpsites closer to residential areas are removed to avert disaster.
He told journalists during the evacuation at Droboso that a similar dumpsite at the Wenchi market was also evacuated by the then Kufuor government which had now been converted into a maize market.
“The Wenchi Municipality has a temporary landfill site and plans are ongoing to ensure a modern engineered landfill site to serve the municipality,” he said.
A sanitation guard at the Drobo, Osei Kofi, who could not hide his excitement, indicated that they will no longer tolerate dumping of refuse at the site after the evacuation exercise.
He gave the assurance they were ready to pay a token for the services of refuse companies to avert a recurrence of the site developing into a heap of rubbish.
From Daniel Yao Dayee, Droboso