Some fifteen youth leaders have volunteered to champion issues of air quality in Tema Newtown, a suburb of the Tema Metropolis.
They will be equipped with knowledge and skills on air quality to enable them to undertake education and sensitisation in the area.
They are Matthew Awumie, Christian Soss, Gabriel Sedenonu, Prosper Anitsi, Okai Richard, Mary Sowah, and David Nii Ayiku.
The rest are Seth Mensah Larbi, Samuel Nyamedor, Elias Kwashie, Theresa Tetteh, Joshua Agudah, Joyce Eshun, Jerry Tornyeviadzi and Else Escoba.
Mr Hamza Bawah Mahama, Project Coordinator of People’s Dialogue on Human Settlement (PD), introduced them to the Tema Metropolitan Assemble at a brief event in Tema New Town, Accra.
One of the key mandates of the group, he said, was to contribute to the sustenance of the advocacy of a new initiative titled “Exposure of Urban Poor to Air Pollution in Ghana.”
With support from the Clean Air Fund, PD’s project sought to address the impact of air pollution on underprivileged urban communities.
Mr Mahama explained that the champions would be included in some of the project implementation activities such as the use of wearable sensors to gather air quality information and dissemination.
He said the groups would serve as the interface between the local Assembly and their communities.
Aside from the Tema New Town, two more informal settlements, Old Fadama in Accra, and Sokoban in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, would have similar groups formed to undertake related activities.
Mr Mahama said Tema Newtown had become slummy due to the nature of the settlement coupled with increasing population, which had outstripped basic services and infrastructure in the area.
Ms Mawunyo Amenyawu, the Sub-Metro Director of Tema East Assembly, said championing clean air in Ghana represented a crucial step forward in the district’s effort to combat harmful effects on public health and the ecosystem.
In 1959, all the first settlers in this community were forced to move from the present Tema Port Land to their present location.
The decision was to pave the way for the Tema Harbour construction.
Initially, the people refused to move to the new settlement, but the government, through Parliament passed legislation to evict the community and the compulsory acquisition of Tema for the construction of the Harbour.
After relocating the community, its original name changed from Tema to Manhean (or Newtown in English).
There are about 1,078 structures in which 914 are housing structures, mostly made of wood. The rest are made of concrete or aluminum.
Tema Newtown has 24 shared water taps, of which 22 are functioning and two are broken.
Only ten households have access to private water taps, with 40 to 50 per cent households located more than 100 metres from a shared water point.
The area has two shared public toilets, which are functional, and two households with access to private toilet facilities.
The community has no disposal points, internal roads, educational facilities, clinics, or hospitals.
In terms of working population, 40 percent are employed in the formal sector while the rest are engaged as fishers, fish mongers, and farmers. There are also herders, petty traders, commercial traders, food vendors, barbers, hairdressers, and tailors.
