115 people are being prosecuted by the AMA for rubbish burning and other sanitation violations.

Between January and March 2022, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) prosecuted 115 people for failing to comply with its 2017 sanitation bye-laws.

Garbage dumping into drains, refuse burning in residential areas, insanitary drains in front of their properties, non-registration with licensed waste collectors, weed overgrowth in their surroundings, lack of household toilets, and open defecation are among their offenses.

The remaining reasons included a lack of appropriateness, health and safety certificates, preparing and serving food in unsanitary conditions, and a lack of a food handlers' certificate.

According to the AMA Boss, who announced in Accra on Friday, the court issued 345 summonses in the first quarter, of which 304 were successfully served on offenders.

Twelve cases were deferred, with nine bench warrants still waiting, according to Elizabeth Naa Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, who added that 168 cases were still pending.

The prosecutions, according to the Chief Executive, are part of the AMA's ongoing efforts to enforce its bye-laws to maintain a clean city, noting that it is a violation of the bye-laws if a person fails to clean the drains around his property, provide a standard container for refuse storage, or use the services of an unregistered solid or liquid waste contractor.

A person could be penalized if they use a public or commercial toilet without a valid permit, defecate in open drains, dump solid and liquid waste indiscriminately in open places, drains, gutters, behind walls, or burn solid waste in their compound.

Madam Elizabeth Naa Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey reaffirmed the Assembly's commitment to implementing its bye-laws to prevent would-be violators and urged all people to be environmentally conscious, noting that the Public Health Department will be conducting routine checks at residents' homes.