The South Tongu Municipal Assembly (STMA) at Sogakope in the Volta Region has organized a massive clean-up exercise at the Dabala and Sogakope markets and their environs to get rid of filth from these market locations and their surroundings. The exercise, which was undertaken by the Assembly in collaboration with Zoomlion and the Environmental Health Office (EHO), attracted several residents, including the Assembly Members (AMs), the market women, as well as some concerned citizens of the two 2 communities.
Actively involved in the five (5) hour exercise were also the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of the area, Hon. Victoria Dzeklo, the Member of Parliament (MP), Hon. Maxwell Kwame Lukutor, Presiding Member (PM) of the Assembly, Hon. Mensah Kwaku Kudze, as well as the Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), Mr. Samuel Glago.
The exercise saw the weeding, cleaning and burning of weeds and debris from and around the two market centers and their environs, the draining of chocked gutters and the complete evacuation of polythene bags, bottles and other foreign materials from the major gutters and drain around the Sogakope main traffic light and also along the main highway. The gutters along the main highway in front of the Sogakope market were not only heavily choked but also caused a stench in the area during the clean-up exercise.
At some of the portions of the Sogakope traffic light, for instance, some of the bread, fish, and ‘abolo’ sellers not only defy the directive to clean their surroundings but also continue their sales activities on and in front of the choked gutters. It took the intervention of the MCE and the MP to get some of the traders to conform to the directive to join the clean-up exercise.
The MCE and MP were shocked at the level of filth created and evacuated from the gutters, describing the situation as alarming. According to them, the development has both personal and public health implications, not only for the traders but also for the citizens and travelers in general who patronize their food items.
Speaking to our newsteam after the clean-up exercise, the MCE, Hon. Victoria Dzeklo, expressed grave concern about the filth situation, particularly in the main gutters close to the market and the highway. She stressed the need for the traders, sellers, and the market women not only to keep their environment clean but also to take it upon themselves to regularly clean their respective areas.
She disclosed that the Assembly would henceforth impose a spot fine of One Hundred Ghana Cedis (Ghc100.00) on traders or sellers who would keep their selling points in filth, explaining that the move would go a long way to help address the filth situation in the main gutters of the town.
The MP for the area, Hon. Maxwell Kwame Lukutor, described the filth situation in the main gutters as deeply worrying, saying the situation could result in the outbreak of cholera and other related diseases. He reminded the traders not only to take their health into their own hands but also the safety of the public, who are the buyers of their food items.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), Mr. Samuel Glago, was grateful to the MCE and MP for the support in undertaking the exercise. According to him, the clean-up campaign would not be a nine-day wonder.
Mr. Glago urged the citizens of the municipality to actively involve themselves in such exercises, adding that such moves would encourage and attract the needed support for the complete success of future exercises.
The Assembly Member (AM) for the Sogakope Central Electoral Area, Hon. Mussah Issah (Zongo Rambo), described the exercise as very revealing and successful and stressed the need for the clean-up campaign to be undertaken on a monthly basis in order to keep the Sogakope Township clean.
The AM for the Agorta Electoral Area, Hon. Sylvester Dormenyo Woyome, noted that the occasion was a great day for South Tongu, saying the clean-up campaign was not only healthy but also a step in the right direction. He was of the view that the move would prevent any floods from occurring in the area as the country gets closer to the rainy season.
A number of the market women our news team spoke with at the Dabala market hailed the exercise, adding that the move had made the market very clean of rubbish and any unwanted debris in and around the market and the Dabala main lorry station, which is closer to the market. Madam Abla Ahiagba, speaking on behalf of her colleagues, called on her colleagues, market women, to regularly clean their respective locations in the market to get rid of filth from the entire market and its environs.
