COURT OFFICIALS at the Cape Coast court are not having to battle with the loads of cases and judgments that would have to be worked on to ensure justice is served, but, with houseflies that that have invaded the courtroom.
Judges who sit on cases at the house always have a hard time going about their duties judiciously as they either have to wipe their eyes of tears or hold their noses from inhaling the avalanche of smoke that engulfs the facility on regular basis.
Medics the paper spoke to claim the court clerks and judges risk such respiratory diseases as tuberculosis, bronchitis, asthma and lung cancer if they continue to gulp the toxic down their throats.
Speaking to the DAILY HERITAGE in an interview, court secretary, John Duga, lamented that the smoke that emanates from the refuse dump sited beside the court has been affecting proceedings.
He explained that he has reported to the clinic one respiratory disease or the other as a result of inhaling the toxic substance.
He blamed their plight on the Komenda-Edina-Eguafo-Abbrem’s (KEEA) reluctance to see to it that the refuse is collected from the dumping site but, that has been a far cry.
“The assembly is indebted to the waste collectors and that is why it has become a mountain. People, have resorted to burning the waste to reduce,” Mr. Duga added. He said flies have been turning judges away from the court due to the untreated waste that is sited beside the court.
Proceedings are held with judges’ hands on their noses to reduce the rate at which they breathe the carbon monoxide.
A resident, Diana Baidoo, wondered why the authorities have been slow in relocating the dump site given the health-related problems.
“Several pleas to the appropriate institutions have fallen on deaf ears,” she grieved.
She appealed to the KEEA to, as a matter of urgency, evacuate the waste to protect the health of residents.
The dump site is also posing a health risk to children in the area as they scavenge on the refuse site, particularly, at a time when cholera is still claiming lives in the region.