Landlords in the Kumasi Metropolitan Area without toilet facilities in their households would be prosecuted. Mr. Michael Agyemang, Project Coordinator for the Kumasi Metropolitan Area for Water and Sanitation programme, explained the position of his outfit, that most landlords had turned deaf ears to the campaign to get a household toilet facility at a reduced cost under a World Bank-sponsored programme, by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, to ensure that every household was having a toilet facility at the lowest cost.
He announced this at a community engagement and education programme at Krofrom (New Tafo), a suburb of Kumasi, organised by the Project Coordinator and the Assembly Member for Krofrom East Electoral Area, with stakeholders.
The Project Coordinator disclosed that the price of the facilities had been reduced from GH¢4,500.00 to GH¢1,200.00, and GH¢2,500.00 to GH¢700.00 to ensure that a toilet facility was provided in every household, for which a house-to-house campaign to educate most landlords had been embarked upon.
Under the project, every landlord was to register within a month, and anyone failing to do so may have themselves to be blamed, besides the option of arraigning them before the law courts, in accordance with the sanitation law.
Mr. Agyemang further disclosed that the project, which started two years ago, had targeted to construct about 4,000 toilet facilities in households with the Kumasi area, yet within three years only 250 of such facilities had been constructed in two years after the project was initiated, which, he said, was not encouraging at all.
Mr. Patrick Kwame Frimpong, Assembly Member for Krofrom East and Presiding Member of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA, emphasised that there was no need for households to rely on public toilets, hence, the need to embark on community-base campaigns to ensure that there was an improved sanitation, hygiene, and clean environment.
He entreated every landlord to apply and register for a household toilet facility under the Kumasi Metropolitan Area Water and Sanitation Project, to ensure that residents did not resort to open defecation or risk their lives to go out in new sites where there were no public toilet facilities available, or easily accessible when one had a stomach upset.
