The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) Mayor, Hon. Osei Assibey Antwi has notified landlords that it is an offense to build a house for rent without providing toilet facilities.

He cautioned that the KMA by-laws clearly frowns on such therefore property owners without  sanitation infrastructure have been given an ultimatum of six months to put sanitation crisesin their house in place before facing legal actions.

“We are educating the landlords who have no toilets in their homes on the need to have one. The enforcement team will also follow up to administer the law. Today is purposely for education and serving of notices,” he said.

The World Toilet Day is celebrated on 19th November every year with an inspiring action to tackle the global sanitation crisis and help achieve Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which promises sanitation for all by 2030. Established by the World Toilet Organization in 2001, World Toilet Day was made an official UN day in 2013. UN-Water leads a taskforce of international agencies to campaign around a common theme.

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This year’s theme, “Leaving No One Behind” was adopted by the KMA as they moved from house to house at Fante New Town, a suburb of Kumasi to inspect and enforce the provision of household toilets. Led by the Mayor in their inspection of compound house without toilets, they sighted that a room formerly used for latrine has been rehabilitated for rent with no sanitation facility.

“It was a toilet facility but has been turned into rentable room and given it out. It is against the law and that is why we educated the woman and gave her six months to provide the toilet or face legal actions,” he said.

With open defecation a major threat in the region, Hon. Osei-Assibey further urged landlords to comply with the six-month time frame. Property owners who have financial challenges were asked to seek advice from Sinapi Aba Trust and apply their ‘Sinapi ‘Ahotee’ Loan for your Toilet’.

“The Bank has a resource to be given to them to build a toilet facility and they will have an ample period to make payment,” he ended.

The Kumasi Metro Environmental Officer, Mr. Bassanyin Isaac revealed that 20% of Ghanaians defecate openly which indicates that such have no toilet in their homes. He assured that the Metro would quit the plenty talk and take actions to help tackle sanitation issues in the Region.

Tenants were pleased with the education and promised to spread the news to put an end to open defecation and other disease contractions.