A letter to the MCE of Tamale

Dear Mr. Iddrisu Musah Superior,

I extend to you greetings from your constituents. Sir, this piece comes to you in good faith as I am also a citizen and not a spectator. I hardly write about the good works and misdeeds of political appointees in Tamale as far as local government is concern.

I have observed some successes for the past two years in Tamale under your tenure as Mayor of the Tamale metropolitan area. Some people may disagree with me because of their political fanatism or blindness. I am writing to you this time only to inform you how your constituents are happy with you on how you are dealing with the sanitation situation in Tamale and its environs especially when it comes to open defecation. Undoubtedly, Tamale is one of the big cities in Ghana. It does not befit us as citizens of Tamale and Ghana as a whole to be fighting open defecation nearly 62 years after independence from colonial and imperial states. The writeup is not to make you a saint but to appreciate you for your hard work though you may have experience some challenges in your day to day running of the assembly. I am an ambassador of environmental cleanliness in my own capacity and I hate to see men and women making themselves comfortable in open places. It is a shame on us all.

In recent years, open defecation has become a major challenge to governments and international organisations. This menace is not peculiar to Ghana only but to the entire developing world especially in Sub-Sahara Africa. Both central and local governments, Non-Governmental Organisations and international organisations have so far spent billions of dollars in combating open defecation. It is therefore expected of every well-meaning MCE/DCE to make budgetary allocations to the fight against open defecation in areas under his or her jurisdiction. Open defecation has serious environmental and health implications. Stakeholders must ensure we end open defecation using all possible means.

This campaign to ending open defecation started in Tamale somewhere in 2017 with the MCE championing the cause. Even if it did not start in 2017, I am pretty sure it gained prominence in 2017. Of course, the campaign is still in progress. Landlords and landladies have been tasked to construct toilet facilities in their homes. For those who could not afford, the assembly has put in place some mechanisms to help them construct the toilet facilities. This time around it is not just a campaign but the assembly has made byelaws and has also triggered existing bylaws to punish

people who do not have toilet facilities in their homes in due town. In our quest to ending open defecation, I remind all stakeholders involved in the process to exercise some restrain because of the abject poverty some of our people are facing. No matter how much the assembly subsidises the cost of these household toilet facilities, some people can never afford it.

Sir, I am telling you what you have done. You know it more than I do and the good people of Tamale (those who really like Tamale) have seen what you are doing. In everything thing that one engages in, there are detractors. There will definitely be interference from both party people and opposition towards the success of this lawful initiative. Since you are also a politician I am really that worried on how you will handle them. Sir, before I finish writing this letter with my small grammar, let me recognised the contribution of the traditional authority (Na nima) workers of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, the sanitation officers (Sama Sama), the private organisations and companies involved and some FM stations in the metropolis towards this initiative. Posthumously, I recognised the contribution of the late Dema Naa (entertainment chief) to all the activities of the assembly. There are some areas that the assembly must consider very seriously. This include waste disposal, the drainage system in some suburbs of the metropolis and other important areas.

Sir, this letter ends here with a saying from one of your people that “the man who has many enemies is the man who does good”. Thank you for reading.

Yours citizen,

Abdul-Kadir Ibrahim