By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, Jan. 9, GNA – Mr John Ansu Kumi, the Sunyani Municipal Chief Executive, has stated that the construction of an urban development park, under the implementation of the phase three of the Secondary City Support Project in the Sunyani Municipality has not slowed down.
Instead, the contractors executing the project were worried about the practice of open defecation (OD) by some residents around the work site, Mr Kumi told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in an interview in Sunyani in reaction to an earlier publication headlined that the project’s implementation had slowed down.
Under the project, an “ancient” heap of refuse dump at the Sunyani Area Two had been evacuated, but the contractors working on the project said they were unhappy some residents around had turned the project site into a place of convenience.
Hitherto, criminal activities were common around the refuse dump site area as the enclave served as a den for criminals, mostly engaged in drug abuse and peddling.
The implementation of the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA) credit project, which started in 2019 spanning a period of five years is part of the government’s broader urban development and decentralisation projects in Ghana.
It would help to strengthen local systems and provide the necessary support to the Municipal Assembly for effective urban management and service delivery.
Under the third phase, Sunyani is benefiting from a three-acre landfill reclamation urban park development, a 500-meter storm drain and a 1.4-kilometre access road.
However, during an inspection visit to the project site at the Sunyani Area Two, the contractors appealed to the Sunyani city authorities to help end the OD practice around the area to enable them to speed up.
Mr Kumi and other stakeholders visited the site to assess the level of work and inspired the contractors to accelerate for the project to be completed and handed-over for use.
Nonetheless, they promised to deliver quality work, complete and hand-over in August 2024, as scheduled.
Excavation works, including clearing and construction of a huge steel bridge, were ongoing on the 1.4-kilometre access road linking Petra Hotel and Sunyani Estate to the Sunyani Jubilee Park area.
Mr Kumi said he was satisfied with the progress of work and commended the contractors for quality work and assured the Municipal Assembly would introduce stringent measures to control the OD practice at the site.
He further warned residents against the bad and insanitary practice, saying “we are all going to benefit, and we must all unite to end the Open Defecation practice for our own good”.
GNA