In commemoration of the first anniversary of the June 3 twin fire and flood disaster at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, six statues made of plastic waste have been mounted in front of the Goil filling station.
Attracting a large crowd, the statues which comprise a giant fireman carrying a woman in his arms and four other bodies, all made of plain and black plastic waste materials; tell the story of the disaster.
The giant fireman is made of plan rubber with shiny jewels depicting tears, while the woman is made of black polythene which symbolically represents a woman burnt to death as a result of the fire.
Two plain bodies represent a woman and her child, who were drowned and two other statute made of black and white rubber which symbolise half burnt bodies. The statues are lying in a pile of white rubber which represents the flood.
The metal fence which seals the filling station from the public was covered with inscriptions which read, ‘Don’t throw refuse into gutters’, ‘Our Gutters are not meant for solid waste’, ‘Dirty cities are made by dirty people’, ‘Waste management is everybody’s business’, among others.
Speaking to The Ghanaian Times, Faisal Dauda, the artiste behind the exhibition disclosed that, his aim was to sensitise Ghanaians about the need to recycle plastic waste and assist in the sanitation menace in the country.
Mr Ibrahim Yahaya, a trotro driver and a relative of a victim, called on government to ensure that appropriate measures were taken to dispose of waste and construct adequate drainage system in flood prone areas.
Another relative of a victim, a widow who spoke to The Ghanaian Times on condition of anonymity said that she had lived at Circle for 24 years and have never experienced anything such as the twin fire and flood disaster, which took the life of her husband.
“Government must, a s a matter of urgency, reconstruct drains at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle that have been choked with filth and also ensure that fuel stations are sited at the appropriate places” she said.
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