The stretch used to be a sight to behold, for which reason the vicinity attracted many to settle on the hills.

The location also attracted lots of people who took advantage of the steepness, clean air and serenity, to converge on the hills on weekends to exercise.

Visits by The Mirror to the area, however, confirmed that patrons of the keep fit aside from using the stretch for athletics, end up soiling the environment with empty plastic bottles, sachets and other waste materials, when they refresh themselves after their activities.

The habit has, therefore, turned the entire shoulder of the Ayi Mensah to the Peduase Lodge section of the road into an eyesore.

For instance, The Mirror observed that a section close to the Peduase Lodge, including a drain, was choked with plastic waste.

Similarly, the junction opposite the Peduase Lodge, which also leads to the residence of former President John Agyekum Kufuor, was also littered with lots of plastics.

There were also no dustbins along the stretch.

Expressing concern about the littering, a resident of Peduase, Ms Anima Apeadu, asked the authorities to take bold and deliberate action to ensure the area was always clean.

"If you come here after 3 p.m., it is an eyesore. The whole place is littered with plastics. The people who come here are destroying our beautiful environment and we need to take a significant step towards a cleaner, healthier environment,” she added.

Another resident, Mr Kwabena Asiedu, said he disliked the idea of people coming up the mountain to exercise because they did not do so responsibly.

He said there were so many areas in Accra to exercise and called for a stop to the practice if the patrons of the hills would not be responsible.

"Have you seen the filth people leave around? Many of us do not know how to clean, yet we always litter. It is a very serious concern," he said.

When The Mirror visited the Akuapem South Municipal Assembly in Aburi, last Thursday, to find out its reaction to the situation, an officer of the planning and development team of the assembly, who spoke on anonymity, said it was an issue the assembly had been battling with for long.

According to him, individuals, including organisations and food vendors who wanted to use the area for business were to register with the assembly for guidance and regulations.

"But they do not comply. The majority of the people who come there to exercise are mainly corporate individuals and institutions and so it is shocking that they refuse to comply.

"It is only the foreign organisations who register with the assembly, so we give them the modalities, which is that it is a highway so for a large crowd, we use the police to march them up.

We also show them where to park and where not to litter," he explained.

The officer also said vendors like coconut sellers had been given a designated point to dispose of the husks properly.

"We also rely on waste collectors from some waste collection companies to keep the area clean and that is how we want to manage the refuse and huge vehicular traffic," he said.

The planning and development officer further indicated that when people registered with the assembly, they were directed to where they could undertake their aerobics.

He acknowledged that the junction to the residence of former President John Agyekum Kufuor and the lawns of the Peduase Lodge were badly affected by the menace, saying that it was even wrong for the patrons of the hills to loiter around that area since it's a security zone.

He said the activities of the Keep Fit clubs and athletes not only create filth but also lead to intense vehicular traffic.

The officer said one key initiative taken by the assembly to solve the problem was the establishment of a multi-purpose sports complex at Kitase, a town near Peduase.

He said it was a way to sanitise and regulate the activities of the patrons who visited to keep fit.

However, he said, many of them refused to use the facility, compelling the community to turn the space into a venue for various social events.

He said, "On weekends, we try to bring them to the multi-purpose sports complex but many of them refuse. And the thing is, you cannot force them. We also introduce them to the Methodist park".

While raising concerns about the vices that had characterised the use of the area for athletics, he expressed serious reservations about the mounting of unauthorised billboards on the stretch, explaining that it was one of the major causes of accidents in the area.

He said many of the billboards were badly positioned and obstructed drivers.

He said the assembly, in March this year, pulled down a number of unauthorised billboards but they were mounted again the next day, adding that the assembly had contacted the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG), to help deal with the issue.

Writer’s email address: [email protected]