The Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District in the Savannah Region may not meet the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on sanitation if drastic measures are not taken to improve the situation, particularly with regard to the provision of toilet facilities.
The Sawla town currently has only one public toilet facility in the Kawubi electoral area with another one in the Sindaa electoral area which needs urgent renovation.
Goal Six of the SDGs calls for, “Ensuring availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”.
Sawla has two toilet facilities but one is no more in use while the other is in a poor state.
In separate interviews with residents they said they have appealed to the government to help save the situation on several occasions but to no avail.
They called for the immediate renovation of the Sindaa toilet facility and the construction of additional public toilets to ease the difficulties the people were going through.
They also appealed to the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba District Assembly to remove the mountain of refuse right in the heart of the community where the dilapidated Sindaa public toilet is located to avoid the outbreak of diseases in the area.
The residents said that if nothing is immediately done about the situation it will result in the outbreak of communicable diseases.
A resident Elias Diabor Saaka, said in an interview that the situation has persisted for years, despite unending calls and efforts to address it.
He lamented that despite raising the issue severally to the District Assembly Assembly no assistance has come to the people.
According to him, “ Due to how people defecate on the refuse dump, anytime it rains it has effects on us and this results in malaria and other sicknesses”.
He averred that the refuse dump is in the middle of the town and reiterated calls to the government to as a matter of urgency eject the nuisance from the area.
“The government must assist us to evacuate this rubbish dump because it has now taken over the area and so I would be happy if the government can assist us. With the Assembly, we have reported and reported, yet [the problem persists]”, worried Diabor Saaka said.
Madam Nana Samata, a hairdresser closed to the dilapidated toilet facility also expressed similar concerns, especially the health risks of the people, particularly those with close proximity to the site.
She said, “It gives us a lot of problems especially when it rains, you see all the rubbish move straight into my shop”.
“There is a lot of human excreta on the dump and this makes us feel uncomfortable here and ended with an appeal to the government to come and evacuate the rubbish from the area.
She complained of the unbearable stench and invasion of flies in their homes.
She complained: “the stench is bad and house-flies, always visit our homes. Sometimes too, when the wind blows, it carries some of the rubbish into our homes”.
Source: yagbonradioonline/Natomah Rebecca
