Open defecation poses a threat to the environmental landscape, especially along the coastal communities, where the Shama, a fishing community, is no exception.
According to recent reports, open defecation in Ghana is still a significant issue, with estimates suggesting that around 17.22 per cent of the population practices open defecation.
This practice is largely attributed to a lack of access to basic sanitation faculties in rural areas, hindering the nation’s progress towards achieving universal sanitation access by 2030.
However, residents of Shama say, they still go to the shore to ease themselves of the absence of a toilet facility.
This, they say, is not good for the image of the community, and are calling on authorities to make sure they complete the stalled toilet facility.
“Shama is a great town, but when you come to the seashore, it’s an eyesore. Both young and old come to defecate on the seashore. This is not a good practice, and it speaks lowly of the town. Our leaders should make it a point to ensure the construction of the stalled toilet facility is resumed.”
“There’s a refuse dump here, but residents say paying one cedi is expensive, so they dump and defecate along the shore. Whenever you complain about such an attitude, they rain insults on you.
The town is no longer attractive to tourists because of filth.”
“There’s no single toilet facility here; we all resort to the shore to ease ourselves. The authorities know of this issue but have turned a blind eye to it.”
The Assemblyman of Shama Apo, Ebenezer Amokwando, noted that the Assembly is working with Ghana Maritime to get some support in curbing the menace.
“What we have here doesn’t quite meet our needs, as there are areas that still require cleaning. We had previously requested containers from them several months ago, and they assured us that they would provide two. However, it wasn’t until yesterday that they delivered on their promise, and even then, it was only one container, which was facilitated through Ghana Maritime.”
