Relocate Agbogbloshie/Old Fadama Residents - But With Their Consent

In light of the latest outbreak of communal violence at Agbogbloshie/Old Fadama,  one will have to risk raising the ire of many of the area's residents by doing some plain-speaking about that part of Accra.

The question is: Is that area really fit for human habitation?

One wonders just how many of the Kokomba and Dagomba youth currently  at loggerheads in Agbogbloshie/Old Fadama, are actually aware of the very real threat posed to their long-term health by the toxins in the heavily polluted air, water and soils in that benighted area they are fighting over.

The truth of the matter is that it is one of the most heavilly polluted places not just in Ghana but on the surface of the planet Earth. From that perspective it is definitely not a very good idea living there, if truth be told.

It really is scandalous that prepared food and agricultural produce are permitted to be sold there by the city authorities.

Ideally, the operations of the sundry waste recycling enterprises based there ought to be carried out by robots in closed-loop covered structures.

It is irresponsible for the authorities to permit human beings to work in such a heavily polluted environment.

As things currently stand it will not be an exaggeration for one to suggest that it is most probable that any individual who breathes in the heavily-polluted air in that area for prolonged periods and regularly eats food prepared and sold there is bound to eventally end up getting some form of cancer.

Above all, if that hell-on-earth is also going to become a battle ground for warring tribal groups - on top of the risk it poses to public health - then the time has definitely come for the Accra Metropolitian Assembly (AMA) and the security agencies to work closely with the opinion leaders of all the communities who live and work at Agbogbloshie/Old Fadama, to work out a plan to relocate them to a much safer environment as soon as practicable.

Naturally, in a democracy such as ours,  any public health-protection-initiative to relocate the people who  live and work at Agbogbloshie/Old Fadama must be done humanely, and with their informed consent.