By Emmanuel Gamson
Takoradi, April 13, GNA – The Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has closed down KOFAB ICE, a sachet water producing company, for operating without a license at Ntankoful community in the Essikado-Ketan Sub Metro.
This was after the STMA’s “Operation Clean Your Surroundings Campaign” task force undertook an unannounced visit to inspect the sanitary conditions of facilities and households in the community, found the company to be operating illegally.
A statement signed by Mr John Latse, the STMA Public Relations Officer (PRO), and copied to the Ghana News Agency, said the Company was also found liable to be operating without medical certificates of fitness for its workers, had insufficient space for operation and operating under unhygienic conditions.
The statement said, one Maame Efua Ebaa, a public toilet operator, was also fined for poorly maintaining the facility which had a dilapidated septic tank with dangerous cracks, and insanitary environment producing offensive odour.
Again, three residents of the Ntankoful community, Mr Barnabas Mensah, George, and Eva Mensah, were arrested and fined for connecting untreated effluents from a septic tank to a public drain.
Another offender, Dorcas Ngissah, a Cold Store and ‘Chop bar’ operator, was arrested and fined for lack of medical certificates of fitness, co-operating cold store and chop bar in same space and insanitary drainage on her frontage.
Madam Vivian Morrison, a grocery store operator, and Henry Boahene, operating a Pharmacy shop, were both arrested and fined for insanitary drainage in front of their premises.
The “Operation Clean Your Surroundings” campaign, is an initiative by the STMA and supported by the Twin-Cities in Sustainable Partnership Project (TCSPP) to sensitise residents within the Metropolis on the Assembly’s sanitation by-laws, arrest, prosecute, name and shame sanitation-related offenders.
The campaign, sought to change the poor attitudes and behaviours of community members towards sanitation.
In line with the execution of the campaign, a task force undertakes unannounced visits to inspect sanitation conditions at various households, eateries, hotels, pubs and bars, public toilets, transport terminals, and other locations across the Metropolis.
GNA