By Kingsley Mamore
Dambai (O/R) Feb 17, GNA – The Regional Inter-Agency Coordinating Committee on Sanitation (RICCS) has pledged to intensify monitoring of sanitation and hygiene among butchers to prevent public health concerns.
The move has become necessary to prevent butchers from using old vehicle tyres to singe the slaughtered animals for sale to the public and posing health hazards.
Th RICCS gave the signal at its first regional meeting at the Oti Regional Coordinating Council Conference in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region.
Mr Emmanuel Atta, Acting Regional Environmental Analyst, said the officials would intensify their efforts at monitoring the sanitation condition and hygiene of butchers to prevent any public health situation detrimental to the people in the enclave.
He said the Municipal and District Assemblies (MDCEs) were collaborating to enforce the by-laws and punish defaulting operators of meat shops to serve as deterrent to others who will break the law.
He appealed to the shop owners to endeavour to keep their places hygienic because the environment would attract more customers.
Mr Atta, however, entreated residents to patronise the government’s household toilet intervention to improve environmental sanitation and personal hygiene.
Some of the participants stated that the problem of sanitation was huge and could be tackled through collaboration with community members, Assembly members, traditional and local government authorities and development partners.
They attributed the sanitation challenge to poor individual and community attitude, inadequate facilities, socio-cultural issues, weak institutional support mechanisms, weak enforcement of by-laws and poor sanitation financing.
GNA