Naa Mankwa Salifu Baba, the chief of Dabozesi in the Mamprugu Moaduri District has said going forward the traditional council will not allow anyone to put up a new building without a toilet facility.
The chief, who was enskinned in 2021, has charged all landlords in the community without toilet facilities in their homes to consider having one and to also ensure that the Dabozesi community is open defecation free.
“I want my community to be open defecation free,” Baba told Asaase News on the sidelines of a sanitation durbar in the community organised by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS).
“So, if you intend to build a new house in this community and you are not ready to add a toilet facility, I will not allow you to build the house. I don’t want my community to look dirty. I don’t want sanitation-related diseases in this community,” the chief said.
Baba expressed gratitude to his elders for their support in getting all households to have a toilet facility.
“If you intend to do something with people, the first thing you need to do is to have that kind of patience and tolerance in you. When I first started the sanitation campaign in the Dabozesi community, they didn’t want to take it but I pursue them with patience. I will continue to push to ensure that children don’t get sick anyhow,” he added.
The Dabozesi community was adjudged the cleanest community in the Mamprugu Moaduri District by the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in collaboration with the environmental health and sanitation agency in the North East Region.