Bolgatanga, Nov. 17, GNA – The Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies have been urged to strictly enforce the laws and regulations on good sanitation practices to ensure compliance and protection of the environment.
Stakeholders at a regional sanitation dialogue in Bolgatanga in the Upper East Region who made the call expressed worry at the spate of improper disposal of waste across the country, which was contributing to the adverse effects of climate change.
The forum was organized by the Graphic Communication Group Limited in collaboration with the Zoomlion Company with support from the Mcvities Biscuits, as part of its sanitation awareness drive.
The project, being held across all the 16 regions of the country, is to engage major stakeholders to increase awareness on the good sanitation practices and strategies measures that are compliance with the sanitation laws and regulations.
The stakeholders who attended the programme included, Municipal and District Assemblies, traditional authorities, security services, Ghana Health Services, Zoomlion Group Limited, and Civil Society Organizations among others.
The stakeholders noted that Ghana had enacted several sanitation by-laws yet, the situation seemed to be worsening and blamed the cause largely on lack of enforcement from the authorities which allowed residents to indiscriminately litter the environment.
Tong-Raan Kolbilsong Nalebegteng, the Paramount Chief of the Talensi Traditional Area, admonished the MMDAs to apply the laws and regulations on persons who break the laws without fear or favour.
The Paramount Chief urged the MMDAs to sign agreements with the security services particularly the Ghana Police Service and Military, to help them to deal with people who disobeyed the sanitation laws.
The Paramount Chief urged the Assemblies to place a levy on the water producing companies especially those packaging in plastics to pay which would not only ensure that they disposed of the waste properly but would generate income to the Assembly.
Ms Juliana Talata Agyeyomah, the Bolgatanga Municipal Planning Officer, explained that the Assembly had over the years been spending huge sums of money to deal with the sanitation menace and added that the bad attitude of residents has been the bane to achieving environmental cleanliness.
She said the Assembly would collaborate with other stakeholders to ensure that they intensify education on proper sanitation practices and appealed to residents to view sanitation and its related activities as a shared responsibility and support the fight.
Mr Alhassan Zakaria, the Chief Sub-Editor of the Daily Graphic Communication Group Limited, the media house was committed to working with relevant stakeholders and organizations to promote the sanitation awareness drive to contribute to keeping Ghana clean.
Mr John Sackey, the Upper East Regional Manager of the Zoomlion Group noted that in 2020, his outfit distributed 5000 dustbins and has so far distributed 3,000 dustbins to households to ensure proper disposal of waste.
He urged residents of the region to employ the use of Baskets as a proper way of ensuring good sanitation practices.
GNA