From Sebastian R. Freiku
The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), last Saturday, engaged residents of the metropolis in a general massive city-wide clean-up exercise to herald the celebration of Akwasedaekese of the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II on May 11, 2014.
The six-hour exercise saw the general public and major stakeholders such as assembly members, traditional authorities, religious bodies, fun clubs, the media, market women associations, fire service personnel, and other organisations actively participating to help clean and desilt choked gutters at Adum, Central Market, Railways, Krofrom, and Asuoyeboah among others.
The Mayor, Kojo Bonsu, joined the exercise initially, but had to leave to join the President to visit Manhyia. The Presiding Member of KMA, Nana Kofi Senyah, and other heads of departments took part in the exercise, which lasted nearly five hours.
A good number of compactors, skip loaders, mini tractors, and tipper trucks were used in the clean-up exercise. The Director in charge of Waste Management, Mr. Tony Mensah, who briefed the media on the sanitation situation in Kumasi after the exercise last Saturday, said the KMA had improved upon its efforts at waste management.
He said of the 1,500 tonnes of waste generated daily in the metropolis, the Assembly disposes of about 95 per cent of the refuse regularly. The Waste Management Director said domestic waste generated was being taken care of through the door-to-door collection and communal collection.
He said the Central Business District of Adum, as well as Kejetia, generated a huge quantity of waste because of the intense trading activities in the area.
Mr. Mensah was, however, happy to note that the night cleaning exercise had helped to contain the litter situation, and that the Assembly would soon introduce other waste management schemes that would help deal with challenges in other parts of the Metropolis.