The Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, Elijah Adansi-Bonah, has said open defecation in the Obuasi Municipality remains a major impediment in the fight against poor sanitation in the area.
Speaking at a ceremony organised to create awareness and address the sanitation crisis in the Obuasi Municipality, Elijah Adansi-Bonah indicated he will make sure that open defecation is rooted out from the Obuasi Municipality.
"We decided to come to the central market and interact with our people and educate them. And those who do not have toilets in their houses will construct it after this event. So it is significant that we want Obuasi to be one of the open defecation free municipalities in Ghana," he said.
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According to the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive, the major cause of the open defecation challenge is the construction of houses without toilets.
About 14,000 people in the Obuasi Municipality have been caught in the act of open defecation in the area.
A number of home owners in the Obuasi Municipality have also been found converting their toilet facilities into bedrooms for rent and this has forced the Obuasi Municipal Assembly to pass a by-law which spells out a fine of GH₵ 1,200 or a six months jail term for people caught engaging in the act.
So far, 24 people have been arrested and made to stand trial in a court for engaging in the act of open defecation in the Obuasi Municipality.