Accra of Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on Monday said AMA would
be forced to place a temporary ban on sachet water producers if they
did not help the Assembly to solve the plastic waste problem in the
city.
"They will force AMA to come down heavily on them " he added.He
was speaking at a press briefing after going round some parts of the
city to inspect any damage yesterday's rain might caused.
Mr Adjiri Blankson said the amount of plastic waste that had
mounted under the gutters after the rains was "unimaginable" and
causes flooding in some parts of the city.He said sachet water
producers did not care about the environment but were only interested
in making money, adding, "They are the cause of our woes".
The AMA boss as part of his tour inspected the Sakumono Railway
Underpass project that was being threatened by domestic waste from the
residents along the railway.
He said the AMA and the Ministry of Railways, Ports and Harbours
would collaborate to find sustainable measures to intercept the
domestic waste from getting onto the tracks.
He also inspected drainage at the GREDA Estates in Teshie, and
Tudu main lorry station, which is under renovation.
At the Tudu main lorry station, Mr Blankson said about 800 million
cedis was being spent on the project and it would be ready after the
Easter holidays.He gave the assurance that the people would be allowed
back into the station after the completion of the work.
"We are not sacking anybody. Our vision is to change the outlook
of our markets and lorry stations when we have the necessary
resources" he said. The AMA boss noted that for the assembly to
increase its revenue base, it had accomplished the task of mapping out
all properties that fell under the AMA jurisdiction.
He therefore gave all property owners 28 days ultimatum to check
out with the sub metro or the AMA office to sort out any differences
relating to their property before the new bills come out.
Mr Adjiri Blankson also registered his displeasure at recent
media publications that the newly constructed Pedestrian Mall was
flooded.
He said the reportage was unbalanced and unfair to the AMA
because the flooded area was only a little portion of the mall.
"Capitalizing on two to five percent of an entire project is unfair.
AMA did a good job and deserves some praise," he said. Reacting to a
question on what the AMA was doing about people in Sodom and Gomorah,
he cautioned the residents that the directive of the Greater Accra
Regional Commander was still valid and that, "AMA can pounce on them
at anytime".
3 April 07
