The Wa Municipal Assembly has embarked on fumigation at the Wa Central Market to promote good sanitary practices.
More than 500 rats were killed in the exercise dubbed: ‘de-ratting’, and was undertaken by the Municipal Environmental Health Service and Zoomlion Ghana Limited.
Speaking to GBC at Wa, the Wa Municipal Environmental Health Officer, (MEHO), Paul Baba Mornah said the de-ratting was necessitated by the incessant complaints of some market women and men that their wares were being consumed by rats.
Mr. Mornah said his outfit used a week to sensitize market women and men to the need of the exercise. After, the sensitization, the environmental health officers together with Zoomlion Ghana conducted a 2-day pre-baiting exercise after which the baiting exercise was undertaken within 3 days. Mr. Mornah said the feedback he had received from the market women and men showed that the presence of rats in the markets had reduced.
The Wa MEHO said after the entire market had been moved from the old site to the new site on the Charia road, another exercise would be conducted to completely rid the area of rats.
In another move to raise the sanitary standards and ensure public health safety in the Municipality ahead of the festive period, Mr. Mornah said plans are far advanced to conduct a medical screening for food vendors.
He noted that their target “is every food vendor or anyone who handles food sale to the public”.
He encouraged food vendors to present themselves to be tested and certified to be able to handle food for the public dispelling rumors that the move is to test for HIV/AIDS.
He said vendors will be screen for typhoid and some intestinal infections.
Story filed by Mark Smith
