Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been told to fully enforce their bye-laws in addressing sanitation challenges confronting the nation.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Dr Freda Akosua Prempeh, who made the call said the sanitation situation continues to worsen by the day in some parts of the country which according to her was unacceptable.
She gave the directive when she toured some flood prone areas in Accra at the weekend to mark this year’s World Cleanup Day.
She said the rampant filth, stench, and the deliberate litter of plastic rubber and bottles into the drains and gutters pose health risk and a major contributory factor to the country’s perennial flooding.
The Minister and her entourage including some officials of Zoomlion, district health officers from the Ghana Health Service and staff of the Ministry could not stand the stench that emanated from the gutters at Tema Station, the biggest commercial lorry station in Accra.
Other places visited included Glefe and some parts of the Tema motorway, where Dr Prempeh expressed worry about the poor involvement of hawkers and residents in the cleanup exercise.
She said,although, the government was committing resources to ensure a clean environment for the citizenry, there was the need to urgently enforce the sanitation laws to thoroughly deal with those who flout them.
She was optimistic that, this would help minimise the poor sanitation condition that posed health risk, and urged the public to report those who litter to the MMDAs.
Dr Prempeh cautioned residents and hawkers who refused to take part in the exercise adding that “they would not be spared in any subsequent activity aimed at cleaning the environment.”
She said her Ministry would strongly collaborate with Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to ensure every Ghanaian and foreigners participate in sanitation activities in the country.
