Court Fines Four Culprits GHS7,200 For Contaminating Stream

Four accused persons dragged to court by the Sunyani West Municipal Assembly were on Monday sentenced to pay a total fine of GHS 7,200 or serve thirty 30 days imprisonment each for contamination of stream with wastewater. They were Bawa Kwabena, Madam Akosua Boahemaa, farmers, Ama Diana and Yaa Lamisi, traders

and the residents of Fiapre in the municipality. They all pleaded guilty to the charge of the “Dirty disposal of wastewater with offensive odour within their premises” which is contrary to section 1(A) of the Sunyani West Municipal Assembly by-law 2020 and the Fiapre Circuit Court Court presided by Miss Rita Amoanywaa Edusah

consequently convicted each of them to pay a fine of 150 penalty units, equivalent to GHS1,800.00 cedis for directing their wastewater into a local stream, ‘Atta Dei Kofi’ serving also as a source of drinking water for the people. The sentence was to to serve as a deterrent to others with the intention of channelling their sewages

into that particular stream and others in the community, the Court Court explained. Mr. Andrews Salifu Brimah, the Municipal Environmental Health Officer who was the prosecutor, later told the media in an interview that six other culprits also declined to appear before the court despite that they were all served with Court summons.

But he also added they would be arrested with a court warrant to be arraigned before the court. Mr. Brimah, also National Public Relations Officer of Environmental Health Officers Association, stressed the Assembly’s Environmental Health Unit was determined to promote good and quality environmental health and sanitation practices to protect the health and safety of residents in

the Municipality. He also stressed that polluting water bodies and degrading the environment generally was a punishable offence also and therefore cautioned the populace to desist from such unpatriotic acts to avoid arrest and prosecution. Mr. Brimah announced that the Unit would not renege on its inspection exercise, also warning that anyone found polluting the environment in any form would be arrested to face the rigours of the law.