The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) in collaboration with Gapo Enterprise, a private organization, has commissioned 20-seater Water Closet toilet facilities at Zogbeli and Aboabo.
The project is expected to improve Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) conditions in the beneficiary communities and also significantly reduce the practice of open defecation in the northern regional capital.
The Public Relations Officer of the Assembly, Chief Amadu Mustapha, during the commissioning of the projects on behalf of the Mayor of Tamale, implored the community leaders to ensure proper management of the facilities to realize its objectives.
He also urged the people to at all material moments collaborate and cooperate with the caretakers of the facilities to ensure the place is well kept.
“Maintenance culture has been a very worrying situation in the country. So we want to ask that people should keep it in ways that the project lifespan will be something that will continue to motivate us to replicate this in the rest of the communities” he appealed.
The Presiding Member of the Assembly, Hon Fuseini Okasha, for his part disclosed that the assembly has reached an agreement with the private developer to manage the facilities for a stipulated period of time before transferring them back to assembly.
Mr. Okasha in his remarks seized the opportunity to refute allegations in the public space that the assembly has been selling state assets including public toilets.
“Another one key thing I want the people of Tamale to understand [as the leader of assembly members] is that the assembly can never sell out any toilet facility be it a plot or the structure. What we mostly do by law is that we would get in contact with any developer that shows interest to take care of it because the laws of the country is said that no assembly can go ahead to put up a public toilet again” he explained.
Meanwhile, the contractor has given an assurance of constructing similar befitting place of convenience in other communities when the opportunity is available.
In a related development, the assembly has also cut sod for the contruction of another 20-Seater Water Closet Toilet Facility at Gumbihini
The chief of Gumbihini, Naa Iddrisu Jabaru, at the sod cutting ceremony launded the assembly for the intervention stressing the impact of the project when completed cannot be overemphasized.
