Tema, June 28, GNA – The Tema Community Centre District Court has fined the Manager of Global Specialty Oil GH₵720, or in default serve two months imprisonment with hard labour.
He was also ordered to report back to the court to show evidence of the abatement of the nuisance.
The manager was accused of insanitary drains in their yard and improper disposal of trade waste into the public drain.
The court presided over by Mr Festus Fovi Nukunu, a Circuit Court Judge sitting as an additional judge at the District Court, fined the Manager on both counts after he pleaded guilty.
Prosecuting, Ms Saudatu Issaka, the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) Environmental Health Analyst, told the court that Global Specialty Oil/Fats is a shear Butter Processing Company located in Tema Heavy Industrial Area.
The Health Analyst said sometime in September 2019, neighbours complained about the discharge of fats and oil into the drain that served the area.
The prosecution told the court that in September 2019, Environmental Health Officers inspected the company’s premises and found out that, the waste products from the company formed part of the mixture of wastewater and oil discharged into the drains.
The prosecution said the oils coagulated into solid substances and caused a blockage in the drains and trapped other solid materials.
He said it was detected that the drain in their yard was untidy with solid materials and plastic choked in them.
Madam Issaka said, the attention of the management was drawn to the situation and a notice was issued to the management to abate the nuisance.
The prosecution said on March 10, 2021, another complaint was lodged and thereupon, officers visited the place once again and issued a verbal notice to the management to provide means to trap the oil within their premises.
On May 29, 2022, a re-inspection was conducted, and it was detected that the situation had become worse.
The prosecution said the manager was charged with the offence to appear and answer to the court, and after the trial was convicted.
GNA