The Mayor of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), Mr Richard Ofori Agyemang Boadi, says the city’s ongoing sanitation and decongestion campaign continues to enjoy overwhelming public support, with minimal resistance from residents.
Speaking to GHone News during Friday’s National Sanitation Exercise in Kumasi, Mr Boadi said about 96 per cent of residents had backed the Assembly’s efforts to improve sanitation and reclaim public spaces.
“The kind of feedback that we get from the public is encouraging. Every activity that we embark on, which we anticipate to have resistance, the resistance has been minimal not even up to three per cent of the total population,” he said.
He said the level of public cooperation would help the Assembly deliver on its mandate of making Kumasi a cleaner and safer city.
The Mayor disclosed that 26 sanitation offenders were arraigned before the courts on Friday as part of the Assembly’s enforcement measures.
According to him, those prosecuted were arrested within the Kejetia area, with one offender sentenced to imprisonment while the remaining offenders were fined.
He said the prosecutions formed part of the Assembly’s “Samansaman” sanitation enforcement programme, which commenced last Monday to ensure compliance with sanitation regulations.
Mr Boadi noted that the number of prosecutions was expected to increase as the exercise continued.
Commenting on the confrontation that occurred during a recent operation at the area behind the Cocoa Board in Kumasi, the Mayor dismissed suggestions that the exercise had been unsuccessful.
He explained that officials completed the day’s planned operation and even exceeded the initial scope of work despite resistance from some occupants.
“We were successful with what we did. There are three other locations within that enclave that we will return to demolish,” he said.
The Mayor indicated that future operations in the area would be undertaken with enhanced security arrangements to prevent attacks on city authorities.
He rejected claims that the Assembly should have notified occupants before carrying out the operation, insisting that authorities were dealing with areas associated with criminal activities.
According to him, intelligence gathered by the Assembly indicated that some of the affected locations had become centres for prostitution, illicit drug trafficking and hideouts for suspected criminals.
“I don’t need to inform anybody before I take them out. Anybody doing anything illegal or anything not sanctioned by law should expect enforcement action,” he stated.
Mr Boadi appealed to residents to actively participate in future sanitation exercises, stressing that maintaining a clean environment required collective responsibility.
“We want to have a safe Kumasi, and it is to protect everyone. Let everybody come out and support the exercise so together we can make our environment safe,” he said.
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has in recent weeks intensified sanitation enforcement, decongestion operations and demolition of unauthorised structures as part of efforts to restore order, improve environmental cleanliness and enhance public safety within the metropolis.
Source: Starrfm.com.gh/Isaac Justice Bediako
