Accra: Mr Benjamin Kwame Opare, the Founder of the Benemef Foundation, a non-governmental organization focused on sanitation, has made an appeal to President John Dramani Mahama to restart the sanitation day exercises to promote a cleaner environment across the nation. The initiative, which was previously held on the first Saturday of every month, involved community members cleaning their local areas with oversight from Members of Parliament and regional ministers.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Opare highlighted that only a limited number of areas in the country can claim to have a clean environment and efficient drainage systems. He pointed out that locations such as Kpone, Ashaiman, and Tema suffer from plastic pollution and inadequate drainage infrastructure, which leads to property damage and displacement during the rainy season.
Mr Opare expressed concern over drains originally meant for liquid waste that have been turned into refuse dumps by some residents, resulting in obstructed water flow and creating habitats for mosquitoes and rodents. He cited examples of countries like Kenya and Tanzania, which maintain clean environments due to government initiatives, as models for Ghana to follow.
He warned that these sanitation challenges contribute to the spread of communicable diseases, such as cholera and diarrhea, particularly affecting children and the elderly. As a preventive measure, he suggested installing cameras in strategic locations to identify and penalize those who litter, thereby discouraging such behavior.
Mr Opare also called on the President to strengthen agencies like the Environmental Protection Agency and local environmental health officials by providing the necessary resources for them to perform their duties effectively. He urged religious leaders to advocate for sanitation awareness, emphasizing the adage that cleanliness is close to godliness.
Lastly, he urged the government to increase employment in the sanitation sector and conduct public education campaigns through the Metropolis Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to help Ghana become one of the cleanest countries in Africa.
(GNA)
