Forty six environmental health officers in the Upper West Region have undergone a two-day training to enable them to effectively prosecute sanitation cases in court.
A Deputy Director at the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate, Mr Kwaku Quansah, opening the training, called on environmental health prosecutors to update their knowledge, to enable them to properly handle sanitation cases.
He also urged them to be abreast with the environmental laws and study cases on other related offences.
Participants were drawn from environmental health and sanitation departments of the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Upper West and Upper East regions respectfully.
Mr Quansah said the training was part of the Directorate’s plans to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals six (SDGs), which sought to enhance access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
He said the poor nature of people’s attitude towards the environment was a threat to achieving SDGs six, and called on all officers to continue to sensitise the public to the need to keep the environment clean.
Mr Quansah said the training sought to ensure that the MMDAs were better informed on by-laws and its enforcement, to enable communities create a clean environment.
“Environmental health officers as part of their responsibilities are expected to look at issues of enforcement of laws and ensure that standards are followed which is why we are here to support them as a ministry to build their capacity,” he said.
Mr Quansah said the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) was ready to work with non-governmental organisations and other development partners, to make environmental protection a success.
Speaking on behalf of the trainees, the representative of the Pusiga District Assembly, in the Upper East Region, Mr Salifu Bugri Ibrahim, expressed his gratitude to the ministry for organising training for environmental experts.
He urged the MSWR to organised more trainings to enable environmental workers perform their duties diligently.
The training formed part of the capacity building activities of the GAMA sanitation and water project of the MSWR, funded by the World Bank
FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK WA
