By James Esuon, GNA
Agona Swedru (C/R), Sept 09, GNA – The Acting President of the Swedruman Council of Chiefs, Nana Kweku Esieni V, has cautioned residents of Swedru against the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into gutters, on the street, and other public places.
He said this would help curb environmental pollution and its related health consequences.
He stated that it was the core responsibility of every resident to keep gutters and streets in front of their houses, and shops, among other public places clean, to help minimise the cost of refuse collection by the Municipal Assembly.
Nana Esieni gave the caution when he addressed market women, officials of the Agona West Assembly, staff of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Environmental Health and Sanitation officers, as well as store and shop owners, after a six-hour clean-up exercise to mark the monthly national sanitation day at Agona Swedru.
He said the national sanitation day instituted by the government, required every resident at Swedru to partake in the exercise, to ensure environmental cleanliness and to reduce communicable diseases including typhoid and cholera because of insanitary conditions.
Nana Esieni gave the assurance that the Sanitation Committee of Swedruman Council would continue to collaborate with the Agona West Municipal Assembly during the monthly clean-up exercises and urged residents to partake in the worthy course.
Mr Simon Asare, the Agona West Municipal Coordinating Director, added his voice to calls for residents, particularly market women, shop and store owners, to endeavour to keep their surroundings clean.
He said Agona Swedru was one of the busiest business districts in the region which attracted hundreds of thousands of visitors including traders, business owners, and hawkers, particularly during market days on Mondays and Thursdays, hence it was prudent that its environs were kept neat all the time.
The Municipal Coordinating Director hinted that apart from the huge sums of monies spent on sanitation, the Assembly also procured dustbins placed at all vantage points, to enable visitors, traders and hawkers to dump refuse into them.
Mr Marc Dzordzordze, the Agona West Municipal Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer said good sanitation was a collective responsibility and that the environmental department of the Assembly was dealing with all sanitation offenders apprehended.
He announced that all store and shop owners who failed to participate in the previous month’s clean-up exercise, were made to purchase five shovels each as punishment to serve as deterrent to others.
Mr Dzordzor called on the residents to dump refuse into containers placed at the markets and other vantage points to avoid indiscriminate littering and waste dumping across the Municipality
GNA
Edited by Alice Tettey/ Christabel Addo