Togo’s Toxic Nightmare: Atakpamé Chokes Under Mountains of Filth

Almost a quarter since the seven hill city is suffering from unsanitary conditions without any name. Household waste has become full roommates who share residents’ daily lives. There is no concrete solution on the horizon.

Atakpamé, a town north of Lomé, is known for its green landscape. No one is indifferent because of the natural architecture composed of hills, succeeding one after the other, and the wonderful weather that reigns there. However, inside this jewel there is currently filth which, without significant intervention on the part of the municipal authorities, could cause serious problems for the residents.

A fairly regular phenomenon, it is common for household waste collection, which is a large part of public landfill, to fall behind. Except since August, it has been difficult to remove rubbish from homes in a large part of the city.

Local young people were removing rubbish. So once a week, the young people would make several trips around the neighborhoods with their tricycle in order to clear the impurities for a fixed price that is payable at the end of each month.

This order is disrupted when the rubbish taken out of homes for collection remains in front of houses or even on the side of the roads.

The latest news is that it was the town hall that threatened and banned young people from collecting household waste. The young people would be doing this activity illegally because they do not belong to any structure approved by the town hall.

Then followed announcements in the city prohibiting people from burying or burning garbage under penalty of a fine. Since then, nothing has been done to improve the lives of residents who still live with rubbish in their homes.

The few structures approved by the town hall a few days ago are also struggling to function. The Ministry of Health and Public Hygiene already announced at the beginning of October a cholera epidemic with a few deaths. Added to this is the frequency of rain in this part of the territory; pathologies of microbial or infectious origin are likely to experience regeneration.

Everything suggests that the fifth city of Togo is increasingly contaminated by the great evil of the great capital. As access to potable water becomes increasingly scarce, decision makers have every interest in limiting the damage.

source: alternative.info