GENERAL NEWS

E/R: Custom officer arrested for demolishing public toilet

The Akuapem South Municipal Security Council has arrested an alleged officer of Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) identified as Daniel Adjei and his accomplice, John Annan for the unlawfully demolishing a 12-seater KVIP public toilet facility at Asuafum a suburb of Aburi in the Eastern region.

The suspects accompanied with armed land guards stormed the community with bulldozer on Wednesday September 13, 2023 to demolish the toilet facility creating tension as residents became furious prompting intervention by the security.

The Custom officer is claiming ownership of the land on which the toilet facility was situated, claiming he purchased the land two years ago.

The Assembly member for the Aburi West electoral area, Daniel Asiamah told Kasapa News “the custom officer and land guards stormed the community to demolish the toilet facility built by the assembly. The residents attempted to resist them but the land guards were armed with guns and other dangerous weapons so the residents couldn’t make progress to stop them. However, they are happy the security intervened to arrest them”.

The suspects have been handed over to the Eastern Regional Police Command to assist investigation.

Many homes in the community do not have toilet facilities, therefore, the public toilet facility has been serving the community for decades.

It is the only toilet facility in the community.

There is fear that open defecation will increase with potential cholera outbreak if a new toilet facility is not built immediately.

According to the 2021 Population and Housing Census of Ghana, about 18 per cent of households in Ghana do not have access to a toilet facility with the proportion being over three times as much among rural (31.3%) as urban (8.9%) households.

Rural households (5.1%) dominate the use of unimproved toilet facility relative to urban areas (1.1%) and show wide disparities across the regions ranging from Upper West (21.9%) to Greater Accra Region (3.4%).

The census report again indicate that open defecation is prevalent in all 16 administrative regions in Ghana, with five regions recording more than 50 percent.

This means, about 5.5 million people in Ghana still practice open defecation.

Although almost all assemblies have by-laws that make it compulsory requirement for landlords to provide toilet facilities for their tenants which failure to do so attracts sanctions, the law is not being enforced making public toilet facilities a critical intervention for many households without to attend natures call.

Source: Kasapafmonline.com

Ogyem Solomon

Solomon Ogyem – Media Entrepreneur | Journalist | Brand Ambassador Solomon Ogyem is a dynamic Ghanaian journalist and media entrepreneur currently based in South Africa. With a solid foundation in journalism, Solomon is a graduate of the OTEC School of Journalism and Communication Studies in Ghana and Oxbridge Academy in South Africa. He began his career as a reporter at OTEC 102.9 MHz in Kumasi, where he honed his skills in news reporting, community storytelling, and radio broadcasting. His passion for storytelling and dedication to the media industry led him to establish Press MltiMedia Company in South Africa—a growing platform committed to authentic African narratives and multimedia journalism. Solomon is the founder and owner of Thepressradio.com, a news portal focused on delivering credible, timely, and engaging stories across Ghana and Africa. He also owns Press Global Tickets, a service-driven venture in the travel and logistics space, providing reliable ticketing services. He previously owned two notable websites—Ghanaweb.mobi and ShowbizAfrica.net—both of which contributed to entertainment and socio-political discussions within Ghana’s digital space. With a diverse background in media, digital journalism, and business, Solomon Ogyem is dedicated to telling impactful African stories, empowering youth through media, and building cross-continental media partnerships.

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