The Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, has called for the reintroduction of sanitation courts to stop people from reckless littering in order to stem the spread of diseases, especially cholera.
The Asantehene said modernisation, instead of helping Ghanaians to reform the systemic failures, had rather worsened the already precarious sanitation situation.
He said the situation called for concerted efforts by all, irrespective of one’s political belief or class in society, to tackle the canker head-on.
[contextly_sidebar id=”QopZINFoIuEuq4J2uX8TwdWaO2lVj2R0″]Otumfuo Osei Tutu was welcoming a team from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, led by the sector Minister, Julius Debrah, at the Manhyia Palace in Kumasi on Monday.
The team was in Kumasi to seek support from the chiefs on the government’s new policy on sanitation.
National Sanitation Day
Beginning November 1, this year, the ministry will observe National Sanitation Day, a day set aside to rid the country of filth.
This will happen on every first Saturday of the month, and President John Mahama and his ministers, as well as metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives, will champion the cause.
The National Sanitation Day will be officially launched in Accra, during which details of the exercise will be announced.
Otumfuo Osei Tutu II said the generation of filth cut across classes, covering both the educated and non-educated, the high and the low in society.
“We need to be ashamed of ourselves as a people for copying wrongly from the Western world. Instead of copying right, we have decided to take the path which is neither Western nor Ghanaian,” he said.
The Asantehene commended the government for the move but said aside from the first Saturday in the month, Asanteman would also re-enforce its every 40-day clean-up campaign which had been in existence from time immemorial.
Plastic waste
He advised the minister and his team to deal with the issue of plastic wastes, final disposal sites, covering of collected waste by waste vans and refuse on the shoulders of the road after de-silting of gutters.
Mr Debrah expressed delight at the Asantehene’s endorsement of the programme and said all the suggestions made would be factored into the final draft for implementation.
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Source: Graphic Online