Tema residents worried over perennial sewage challenges

Some residents in Tema, especially community one, have called on the authorities to implement a permanent solution to sewage challenges in the area.They said the sewer lines had deteriorated for years and needed to be changed to meet the current demand in the area, describing the temporary solutions as a waste of resources.They stated that it was now common to see faecal matter flowing from burst sewer lines and manholes in the communities and sometimes in the markets, stressing that there had been countless calls on the central government and various district assemblies to repair the sewer system.The residents, speaking to the Ghana News Agency on the issue, complained of having respiratory problems due to the heavy stench emanating from the faulty sewer systems.They said the stench was affecting their businesses, especially local food joints operating in the affected areas, as they were not meeting the required food safety and hygiene standards and appealed to the authorities to come to their aid.'It had burst several times; they came to repair it, but it continues; it smells very bad; it is making some of us sick; you see the faeces in the gutters to the Tema Community One Casino area,' Madam Elizabeth Eshun, a resident, said.Mr. Richard Danquah said, 'The connection also has to be diverted somewhere else; they come to repair but it doesn't last long; a diversion to another phase will curtail the problem.''We thank the assemblyman for coming to site 21 to check up on us; when it bursts, you see it in all the gutters. It's not easy staying here,' Mr. Daniel Enasei, a resident of the site, stated.Mr. Charles Amos, the Assembly member for the Padmore Electoral Area, reacting to the issue, said the problem at Community One site 21 had persisted for close to two months, and he had officially informed the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) to rectify it.Mr. Amos added that the assembly had wanted to work on the issue but was unable to do it due to the recent strike by the Civil and Local Government S taff Association, Ghana (CLOGSAG) and Organised Labour.He expressed concern over the continuous calls from the residents on the issue, noting that in one of the affected areas, an electricity pole needs to be uprooted before work could commence, and he said assurance had been received from the Electricity Company of Ghana for its removal.He further said most residents in the affected areas reported being sick because of the sewer challenge, adding that he was engaging all the stakeholders to ensure that the issue was resolved quickly.