Ghana is a signatory to the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs which makesit obligatory to end Open Defecation by 2030.
But the prospect of achieving this goal hangs in the balance. This is because the Nandom District is currently the only District that has attained Open Defecation Free status out of the 275Districts in Ghana.
One of the areas where there is open defecation is Tulaku in Ashaiman where for one reason or the other, only 18 households have toilet facilities.
Because of this the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly has set a target to end open defecation by 2020.
In this feature, GBC Radio’s Nathaniel Nartey looks at the situation of open defecation in the community and finds out why residents prefer open defecation to using the few toilet facilities available.
Imagine having been hungry for so long that your taste buds go dead on food.
This can be compared to the situation at Tulaku in Ashaiman, where it appears that people who live in this poverty stricken community are no longer able to detect foul smell with their noses because they have become used to the stench.
Statistics from the Media Coalition Against Open Defecation indicates that Open defecation is practiced by 22 per cent of the country’s population.
According to the Urban Water Sanitation and Hygiene report 2016, 83.9 per cent of the 300 thousand population in Ashaiman depend on public and shared toilet facilities.
With the growth of Ghana’s population it is feared that the figure may get worse.
It is against this backdrop that GBC Radio joined the Media Coalition against Open Defecation to tour the area and appraise themselves with the situation in Tulaku, a community in Ashaiman notorious for open defecation.
The densely populated area, with wooden structures has one public toilet, serving thousands of residents.
The public toilet, which was constructed by the Municipal Assembly is full and overflowing, posing severe health risks to residents.
As I stood at the center of the field which was covered in feces I could see a mall (China Mall), the Motorway Fire Station and a police station, while scraps dealers and truck drivers were stationed on the side of the field in question.
These people were busy with their activities as though nothing is happening meanwhile I was struggling to breathe.
A seven (7) year old boy by name Maxwell, who uses the public toilet told Radio Ghana his failed attempts to prevent people from defecating in the open.
“The little children come and shit here without any excuse. When I try to stop them, their mother will come and ask why I am preventing her children from shitting here (on the field) because I am not matured enough to do that.”
A boy who uses the open field to attend to natures call said he does so because his parents do not give him enough money to pay for the public toilet, hence he engages in open defecation.
A truck driver who is stationed close to the field, Ibrahim Abubakar told Radio Ghana that the “public toilet is not neat and wee smokers often go there to do their things”, which prevents others from using the place.
He, added that the open defecation will continue until the public toilet is made better. But the question still remains, “Why are households refusing to acquire their own toilet facilities even at subsidized rates.
An Environmental Health Assistant with the Assembly Naagodi Baaba explains. “The Tulaku community is a place where they have land issues.
The Tema Development Corporation (TDC) said they will demarcate the land for them, but they’ve not done it yet.
According to the residents, TDC asked them not to put up any permanent structure, so they( the residents) are waiting for TDC.
But the toilets we are providing are mobile. It can be moved after installation as and when TDC does the demarcation.”
This explains why households in Tulaku, largely made of wooden structures do not have toilet facilities.
An interesting observation I made was an inscription on the public toilet in red paint that said ” Remove now my ASHMA within 14 days” and was dated 20th February, 2019.
This implies that the Ashaiman Municipal Assembly is asking for a toilet facility it built by itselt to be removed. Authorities of the Municipality Assembly claim they have no knowledge of this.
A resident who lives a few meters opposite the public toilet disclosed to Radio Ghana that “the toilet is full and overflowing”.
As we got closer to the public toilet to verify the claim, I could not help but cough and sneeze even with my nose tightly covered with my handkerchief because the stench from the public toilet and chocked gutters was unbearable.
Interestingly a project officer with the assembly Henry Tenu claims he is “unaware of the situation at the public toilet in Tulaku”, which was surprising because he was part of the team that went on the tour and was seen going in and out of the public toilet in question to inspect it.
For this and many other reasons, convenor of the Media Coalition Against Open Defecation Emmanuel Addai blamed the assembly for failing to manage the situation, Patron for the Coalition Dr. Doris Dartey called on Preaident Akufo Addo to “come clear on the timelines for his vision to make Accra the Cleanest city in Africa”.
A Member of the steering committee of the Coalition and host of Uniiq Breakfast Drive, Cecil Obodai Wentum pledged to intensify the advocacy to put an end to practice.
“As a journalist one of the greatest responsibilities I have is to activate my advocacy drive. So host of the Uniiq Breakfast Drive, I have used every opportunity on Radio (Uniiq FM) to run advocacy to see how to change attitudes towards open defecation”
Despite all these remarks, the Cordinating Director of the Municipality Kojo Akuamoah Boateng insists that Ashaiman has a positive reputation in terms of sanitation.
“Ashaiman has a positive reputation and of course the reputation is a positive one…there has been a lot of interventions in the area of health and sanitation. Those who know Ashaiman over the last five to ten years, you would realize that there has been tremendous improvement in every aspect of the society”
If the current situation in Tulaku is an improvement , one cannot imagine what the situation was like five years ago as alluded by Mr Boateng. Nevertheless, there are a few success stories within the Municipality.
For instance in Ashaiman New Town, response to patronage of the subsidized toilet facilities has been good, with over 2000 units purchased and installed in homes, eliminating open defecation. But for Tulaku, the task ahead is great but not impossible.
As media stakeholders, our duty is not necessarily to name and shame communities in this regard, but to highlight the situation for the authorities to take charge.
Just as the media led the fight against galamsey with cameras, microphones, recorders and note pads which has yielded results, same strategy when applied to the fight against open defecation will definitely yield results.
Story by Nathaniel Nartey
