BOLGA :THE BACKBONE OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT LIES IN A HEALTHY RESIDENT – ASSEMBLY MEMBER

By – Masahudu Jinkor

The Assembly Member for the Dagweo-Pobaga Electoral Area in the Bolgatanga Municipality of the Upper East Region Hon. Alhassan Washir Choumougo popularly known as Watara has asserted that the success of any community development initiative lies in healthy residents of the same community. This according to him compelled him to commit himself in ensuring that residents of his electoral area remain healthy at all times to enable them contribute their quota to community develop.ent and that of the nation in general.

Interacting with URA News in Bolgatanga Mr. Washir who had been an Assembly Member for the area for the past few years was clearing over a decade refuse damp in the area which posed a potential health risk to the lives of residents.

He lamented the irresponsible damping of refuse in the area despite the presence of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly refuse container.

” Of late many residents of the area have complained about the unpleasant smell emanating from the refuse more especially after rains” he lamented. He said the refuse container has been closed to a defunct public place of convenience that had not received the Assembly’s attention despite several complans made to the sanitation unit of the Bolgatanga Municipal Assembly.

The continues presence of the refuse damp in the area just behind the Rashadiyya Primary School wall had made typhoid fever as well as malaria some of the most commonest ailments complained by residents.

The situation the Assembly Member indicated compelled him to initiate moves to get the over a decade and half piled refuse damp conveyed with the support of well meaning residents of the area who shared the same vision with him. This according to him would enable him to fence the area around the refuse container as well as the defunct toilet facility which would be under strict supervision by a voluntary committee to be set up for residents to do responsible damping of refuse for enhanced health.

URA News team’s visit to the site saw a grader and a double tipper truck conveying the refuse with onlooking residents surrounding them. Upon questioning as to how many trips had been conveyed so far they said six.

As part of efforts to revamp the defunct toilet facility the Assembly Member was quoted to have said ” I have being into talks with the Municipal Assembly to prioritize the rehabilitation of the toilet for residents use because it was the only public place of convenience serving the entire electoral area and parts of Sawaba and other nearby communities, the absence of the facility in the area compelled most residents without toilet facilities in their various houses to practice open defecation leaving behind an unpleasant smell all the time”.

Another area of concern to the Assembly Member has been the lack of access road into the electoral area and lack of bridge over the main Bolgatanga town gutter that past through the electoral area.
“It is inconvenient to cross over to our neighbour communities such as Pobaga and Kumbangre with a vehicle or car. I have therefore taken this matter up with some few well-to-do residents of the area agreeing to sponsor the initiative aimed at building over the main gutter a bridge to enable residents cross to and from the other communities. the spot to construct the proposed bridge had been identified and sea sand had been conveyed to the site for work to begin in earnest” he stated. He thanked all the partners and residents for their support which led to the achievements of the two initiatives.

Some few residents our team spoke to thanked the Assembly man for his foresight and commitment to the welfare of members of his electoral area;

One Mr. Bawa Abdullah Zakaria praised him saying the Assembly Member walked his talk as such deserved been a leader. He described him a true leader whose actions impact positivities.

Hajia Nana Awal a female resident who stays in a house very closed to the refuse damp described the Assembly Member as a messenger of God to salvage the community from sickness.

Another resident Alhaji Shaibu Amidu described the Assembly man as a determined leader who would leave behind a standard residents would use to judge subsequent Assembly Members who might come after him.

Source – gbcuraonline.com