The La District Magistrate Court on Monday convicted fifteen waste tricycle operators, also known as ‘borla’ to fines totalling GH¢7,200.00 for dumping refuse along the Tudu street in Accra.
They would in default serve six months in prison, Mrs Juliet Osei Duedu, the presiding magistrate said after the accused pleaded guilty to the charge levelled against them.
Five other accused who pleaded not guilty to the charge were granted GH¢6,000 bail with a surety each.
The court ordered as part of the bail condition that the sureties must be known to the prosecutor.
The convicts are Mustapha Addo, Kenneth Arthur, Ebenezer Dadzie, Mohammed Fuseini and Mohammed Iddrisu.
The others are Moses Gbagidzi, Kwesi Appiah, Yademah Morkokor, Mahamadu Umaru and Frank Lobby.
The rest are Evans Armah, Oliver Roland, Prince Adjor, Eva Ama and Patience Adjor.
Eric Opoku, Reuben Adams , Kpakpo Addo, Kwame Seth and Kwame Frimpong who pleaded not guilty would appear again on November 7.
Prosecuting, Mr Edward Nii Ayi Okai told the court that accused were residents of the municipality and who collected refuse from shop owners and restaurants and dumped it on the median of the Tudu street.
He said on October 5 at about 4:30 a.m a special taskforce from the Korley Klottey Municipal Assembly spotted the accused disposing off the refuse they collected on the median of the Tudu street and arrested them.
Later in an interview with the Ghanaian Times, Mr Victor Acquaye, the Municipal Environmental Officer at the municipal assembly said the accused were arrested in separate operations undertaken by the Assembly and cautioned that any person who flouted sanitation bye-laws would be arrested and prosecuted.
He said the assembly procured 10 tricycles and two borla taxis for collection of waste from the streets, adding that the quantity of refuse generated daily came with a huge cost to the assembly in terms of collection.
Mr Acquaye urged residents to register and pay the service fee for the collection of waste.
BY MALIK SULLEMANA
