Ensuring Environmental Cleanliness During This Rainy Season
By the dictates of nature, once again the rains are with us and the critical issue that comes to the fore is sanitation and waste management in the towns and cities. The proper disposal of waste generated in order to keep the environment clean to avoid the outbreak of communicable diseases such as malaria and cholera becomes critical. The fact is that for the past years sanitation and waste management have always been very challenging to the authorities in spite of the several efforts to keep the city clean. Over the years, successive governments have initiated policies to deal with sanitation to avoid the yearly recurrence of flooding and its inherent effects. However, it appears measures put in place have not been far reaching enough. The truth is that sanitation and waste management challenges which confront the country everyday are the direct results of the people's own activities. People carelessly throw rubbish about especially into drains and gutters at the least opportunity expecting the rains to cart them away into the sea only to realize that the drains are choked and the resultant effect of flooding lead to the loss of lives and destruction of property.
Certainly, managing the sanitation challenges especially in the rainy season has been a daunting task. Huge financial resources which could have been channeled to other development projects to enhance the living standard of people are spent on sanitation related issues by the District Assemblies. Currently, it is estimated that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly for instance has spent almost 1.5 million Ghana Cedis on dredging. Collectively, it is on record that the nation spends 290 million dollars annually in addressing sanitation challenges in the country. This is certainly a huge burden on the national purse. It is estimated that seven out of every ten cases reported at the Out of Patients Departments (OPD) of our hospitals and health centres are directly linked to poor sanitation which could easily have been prevented. It is gratifying to note that since the establishment of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the subsequent launch of the National Sanitation Campaign in November last year, the nation has been making steady progress in dealing with sanitation matters. The theme of the sanitation Campaign "clean Ghana, Play Your Part" with the objective of lifting the nation out of filth has seen a lot of corporate bodies and institutions including the media coming on board to support the programme of the Ministry and the District Assemblies in making Accra and by extension Ghana one of the cleanest in Africa by the year 2020 as envisioned by the President. The various stakeholders’ engagements have helped in shaping the national discourse and awakened the consciousness of the people to keep a clean environment. This is quite commendable, but as the saying goes there is more room for improvement.
We should be reminded that sanitation is an everyday issue. The provision of dustbins along the streets which is an initiative of the One Ghana Movement and supported by the AMA is a laudable one which needs to be patronized. This would go a long way to enable pedestrians and other road users to dispose of their rubbish properly. The law that mandates commercial vehicles to provide a dustbin in their vehicles for use of passengers must be strictly enforced. It is also key to mention that government through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and all other relevant institutions is taking steps to address the infrastructure challenges which would go a long way to add value to the waste we generate to become valuable resources. If the weather prediction by the Metrological Department of heavy rains this year is anything to go by, then it is quite important for us to put our houses in order to avoid any mishap. Even as the law enforcement agencies continue to do their work, the public education aspect of the campaign should not be relegated to the background. The media, churches, the Information Service Department, NCCE, GPRTU and all other institutions have a role to play to ensure effective public education to ensure attitudinal and behaviourial change among the people.
BY: NELSON KOFI AKATEY, PRO - MINISTRY OF SANITATION AND WATER RESOURCES, ACCRA.
Certainly, managing the sanitation challenges especially in the rainy season has been a daunting task. Huge financial resources which could have been channeled to other development projects to enhance the living standard of people are spent on sanitation related issues by the District Assemblies. Currently, it is estimated that the Accra Metropolitan Assembly for instance has spent almost 1.5 million Ghana Cedis on dredging. Collectively, it is on record that the nation spends 290 million dollars annually in addressing sanitation challenges in the country. This is certainly a huge burden on the national purse. It is estimated that seven out of every ten cases reported at the Out of Patients Departments (OPD) of our hospitals and health centres are directly linked to poor sanitation which could easily have been prevented. It is gratifying to note that since the establishment of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the subsequent launch of the National Sanitation Campaign in November last year, the nation has been making steady progress in dealing with sanitation matters. The theme of the sanitation Campaign "clean Ghana, Play Your Part" with the objective of lifting the nation out of filth has seen a lot of corporate bodies and institutions including the media coming on board to support the programme of the Ministry and the District Assemblies in making Accra and by extension Ghana one of the cleanest in Africa by the year 2020 as envisioned by the President. The various stakeholders’ engagements have helped in shaping the national discourse and awakened the consciousness of the people to keep a clean environment. This is quite commendable, but as the saying goes there is more room for improvement.
We should be reminded that sanitation is an everyday issue. The provision of dustbins along the streets which is an initiative of the One Ghana Movement and supported by the AMA is a laudable one which needs to be patronized. This would go a long way to enable pedestrians and other road users to dispose of their rubbish properly. The law that mandates commercial vehicles to provide a dustbin in their vehicles for use of passengers must be strictly enforced. It is also key to mention that government through the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and all other relevant institutions is taking steps to address the infrastructure challenges which would go a long way to add value to the waste we generate to become valuable resources. If the weather prediction by the Metrological Department of heavy rains this year is anything to go by, then it is quite important for us to put our houses in order to avoid any mishap. Even as the law enforcement agencies continue to do their work, the public education aspect of the campaign should not be relegated to the background. The media, churches, the Information Service Department, NCCE, GPRTU and all other institutions have a role to play to ensure effective public education to ensure attitudinal and behaviourial change among the people.
BY: NELSON KOFI AKATEY, PRO - MINISTRY OF SANITATION AND WATER RESOURCES, ACCRA.
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