Residents of some communities in the Sekyere Afram Plains District of the Ashanti Region have appealed to the government to provide them with basic social amenities.
The residents in an interview with Citi News particularly complained about the absence of health, educational and toilet facilities.
The Sekyere Afram Plains District is one of the largest districts in the Ashanti Region in terms of land size. It has Drobonso as its capital.
Citi News checks have revealed that communities in the district lack basic social amenities such as health, educational facilities and public places of convenience.
Jamestown, one of the communities in the area has no school with no public toilet and health facilities.
The residents in an interview with Citi News indicated that the absence of public toilet facilities leaves them with limited options, as they are forced to defecate in the bush.
They want authorities to help construct modern public toilet facilities for them.
”We face a lot of challenges when it comes to issues related to health, water and access to toilet facilities. I approached the Chief of this area and discussed with him, the need to build a toilet facility here. It is even shameful if someone is to visit us. We are forced to go to the Forest and dig in order to ease ourselves.”
“If you don’t dig and you are caught doing open defecation, you will be in trouble. This makes living here at Jamestown very uncomfortable. We are therefore appealing to the government to help build a toilet facility for us,” a resident appealed.
Residents in need of urgent health services are compelled to travel to other communities to receive medical attention.
According to the Chief of Jamestown, James Akawagre, the situation gets worse during emergency situations.
In order to address this challenge, residents of Jamestown are building their own health facility.
They are therefore calling for government’s support towards the project.
“There is no closer health facility here except the [one at the] district capital, Drobonso. The one at Drobonso is not even in good shape. It is unable to address most of our health needs. When you fall sick, a motor bicycle would be used to convey you to a health centre. If you don’t have access to a motor bicycle, you would have to wait till the next day to get a car to Kumawu or Effiduase. The situation gets worse when one is in labour. Members of this community have come together to construct a small facility that can be used as a health centre but it is not yet ready for use,” the Chief of Jamestown stated.
The Presiding Member for the Sekyere Afram Plains District, Njona Daniel says the government is committed to making funds available for development projects in the area.
According to him, communities lacking basic social amenities in the area are being captured under the One Constituency, One Million Dollars Initiative by the government.
He added that allocation from the District Assembly Common Fund has also been made to cater to the needs of deprived areas in the district.
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By: Edward Oppong Marfo | citinewsroom.com | Ghana