News
Garden City now ‘city of stores’
Kumasi, once the Garden City of Ghana, is now the city of stores.
Stores continue to spring up at any available spaces and corners of the metropolis either by the Metropolitan Assembly, a private contractor or individuals, or some prominent citizens some of whom do not have building permits.
Old buildings at Adum, the hub of business, and Dr Mensah, among other areas are being developed into three, four and five storey building, all in the name of stores.
The development is so intense that even school compounds are being turned into stores as in the case of Asem Boys’ School, in Kumasi.
It would interest one the more to know that the Subin drainage, which stretches through the Railway Corporation at Kejetia, has stores constructed on it.
The fact is, there is no provision of toilet or urinal facilities in these stores which has resulted in the store owners using the already choked gutters by the streets as the dumping ground of urine and other faecal matter.
Almost all the stores at Adum, the hub of business, do not have a place of convenience and the store owners use the gutters thus making it unpleasant walking through the streets especially on a sunny day, as one is greeted by the pungent smell emitted from them.
It is a common sight to see most women displaying cooked food (rice, yam, red red, etc) by the gutters and this poses a serious health danger or hazard to consumers.
Majority of the fast food sellers also come to the edge of these gutters to do business without the slightest knowledge of any health implications.
But, health experts say there is a serious health implication when one is exposed to pungent odour emitting from the gutters or elsewhere.
According to a former Kumasi Metropolitan Health Services Director, Dr Kwasi Yeboah-Awudzi, “people who are staying near offensive smell almost all the time can be potentially at risk of having nausea, headaches, depression, increased anxiety, elevated blood pressure, decrease in physical energy, asthma attacks in asthmatic patients as well as physical discomfort (aches and pains)”.
Pregnant women are mostly at risk of contracting other infectious diseases like dysentery, typhoid, cholera among others when exposed to such smelly environment.
Dr Yeboah-Awudzi, therefore, urged pregnant women, the elderly and people with chronic health problems like asthma, not to be exposed to such odour as it would have negative health impact on them.
Surprisingly, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has no specific bye-laws which mandate store owners or occupants to provide toilet facilities thus making the developers have a field day.
The city engineer of the KMA, David Ameyaw, admitting that the Assembly has no specific bye-laws on the provision of toilets in the stores, by owners or occupants, noted that the Assembly had some bye-law (House Owners, Occupants bye-laws 2018, section 103, subsection 1H), which prohibits the construction of a house without adequate toilet facility, which is applicable to store owners and occupants. He explained that subsection 2 of section 103 of the House Owners, Occupants bye-laws is used to prosecute a person who contravenes subsection 1H of section 103 of the bye-law and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 100 penalty units -equivalent of GH¢1,200.00 or three months imprisonment or both.
The Engineer said the Assembly was rolling out a project to change the phase of the metropolis and as part of the project, there would be first class public place of convenience at vintage areas where stores have sprung up to avoid the use of gutters as dumping ground.
He pointed out that the proposed project would ensure that private contractors submit a detailed plan with the provision of toilet and urinal facilities to the Assembly before any construction could take place.
He assured that KMA would ensure all newly constructed stores at Adum and parts of the central business areas would have toilet facilities to ensure comfortability.
He said that it was the duty of the Assembly’s health directorate to enforce the bye- laws that expect building owners and occupants to provide toilet facilities.
Source: Ghanaian Times
Troubled and anxious citizens in Damongo of the Savannah Region have expressed concerns about the number of young people, believed to be under the age of 18, involved in ‘shisha’ smoking in pubs and drinking spots within the township.
Eyewitnesses say the minors were seen patronising nightlife venues, where Shisha smoking happen in the open.
The situation has sparked renewed public concern over the enforcement of child protection laws and regulations governing the operations of entertainment centres in the municipality and country as a whole.
An eyewitness, who spoke to The Spectator on conditions of anonymity for security reasons, noted that the situation was becoming increasingly common.
“This is not a one-off incident. It is becoming very common, but residents like us cannot openly report or speak about it because our lives will be at risk,” he said.
Under Ghanaian law, minors were prohibited from patronising Shisha.
Public health experts have consistently warned that shisha use exposes users to harmful substances that can negatively affect brain development, respiratory health, and overall well-being, particularly among young people.
The residents believe the alleged incidents point to broader challenges relating to youth supervision, substance abuse, and weak enforcement of existing regulations and have called on municipal authorities, security agencies, and regulatory bodies to intensify monitoring of pubs and entertainment centres to ensure compliance with the law.
In an effort to address the menace, Mr Salisu Be-Awurbi, the Savannah Regional Minister, has led public education campaigns, engaged security agencies, and supported enforcement actions to address the rising use of illicit substances in the region.
Wura Kelly Seidu Boresah I, the Chief of Damongo, has also called on all stakeholders including parents, community leaders, institutions, and young people to actively support efforts to curb drug abuse, warning that the rising consumption of hard drugs poses a serious health threat to the future of the youth in the Savannah Region.
He also cautioned individuals involved in the sale and distribution of illicit drugs to immediately desist from the practice, stressing that offenders will face arrest and prosecution in accordance with the law.
From Geoffrey Buta, Damongo, Savannah Region
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Dr Theresa Baffour, an advocate for ending violence and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of SAHM SAHW Foundation, has said that society plays a critical and pivotal role in breaking the cycle of domestic violence.
According to her, domestic violence is a major contributor of making women, who are mostly the victims, mentally derailed and unable to engage in economic activities.
She said this when the foundation called on the Ga Mantse, Nii Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, to solicit support for the initiative by the “Strong and Healthy Minds, Strong and Healthy Women” (SAHM SAHW) to combat domestic violence within the Ga State.
The visit was occasioned by the fact that domestic violence cases have become quite prevalent in the Ga communities and is retarding growth.
According to her, the canker was an impediment to national development because the victims were usually tortured and would have to go through series of therapies to return to the right state of mind.
Dr Baffour mentioned that Gender-Based Violence (GBV) places a mental toll on women, and was, therefore, important to break the cycle through comprehensive mental health support, crisis intervention and empowerment programmes in communities with high rates of GBV.
This intervention, she underscored, would help in empowering the denigrated victim of domestic violence to soundly heal, build and thrive.
Dr Baffour added that the initiative would provide holistic, trauma-informed mental health care and advocacy for young women affected by domestic violence.
According to her, the above statement would create safe spaces for healing and equipping them with entrepreneurial skills for renewed hope and empowered life.
The Ga Mantse pledged his support for the laudable initiative to combat domestic violence and also acknowledged the need to address it in the Ga State.
Further endorsement came from Justice Julia Naa-Yarley Adjei Amoah, Chief of Staff at the Office of the Ga Mantse, as she commended the team of SAHM SAHW Foundation for taking a bold step to end the canker in the Greater Accra.
She added that it was a step in the right direction to save vulnerable women from torture, stress and emotional abuse.
By Alfred Nii Arday Ankrah
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