Social and political non-partisan pressure group, OccupyGhana, is asking government to pay serious attention to overwhelming filth\u00a0in the country.<\/p>\n
According to them, the rate at which waste is engulfing the country is alarming and something must be done immediately to prevent potentially disastrous health and security problem to the country.<\/p>\n
[contextly_sidebar id=”UOhmhnkLYQKtw40OX4zWBgZOSEquJvDp”]\u201cOccupyGhana has noted with concern the huge swathes of plastic and other solid and human waste engulfing our country, especially our capital. It is rapidly reaching an alarming state.We have also been monitoring how the matter of sanitation is being addressed by Government and we are concerned about Government\u2019s commitment to resolving it.\u201d<\/p>\n
They said there has been little effort by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to address the issue.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe reality is that by the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) and its predecessor statute, issues of sanitation are to be handled by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Authorities (MMDAs). There are also the provisions of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency Act, 1998 (Act 564), and the functions assigned to that Agency. This legislative dilemma is compounded by the Environmental Sanitation provisions under Part Five of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), falling within the remit of the Ministry of Health. We, therefore, have doubts as to what the Ministry will do and achieve when it technically has no legislative mandate to handle sanitation anywhere in the country unless its role is to coordinate the activities of all the legislatively-mandated bodies on issues of sanitation.\u201d<\/p>\n
They mentioned that the \u2018National Sanitation Campaign\u2019 launched by the President has done nothing about the poor sanitation since it was launched in November 2017, and has no clear-cut time on when and how the program would be role out.<\/p>\n
“The campaign promised the introduction of automated street sweepers, the formation of a National Sanitation Brigade and appointment of Sanitation Marshalls and Deputies in Municipal and District Assemblies; these appointments were to have been made within one week of the announcement by the President.”<\/p>\n
OccupyGhana has also called upon MMDAs and the Ghana Police to rigidly enforce laws regarding littering the environment, refuse disposal and open defecation, and charge and prosecute offenders.<\/p>\n
They have also urged Ghanaians to desist from littering the environment, refrain from disposing of refuse improperly and stop the practice of open defecation.<\/p>\n
According to them, in order for Ghana to attain a desirable level of cleanliness, the bodies tasked with sanitation responsibilities by law, must strictly apply sanitation laws, carry out intensive and sustained public education and build a new positive attitude in citizens towards caring for and protecting the environment.<\/p>\n
OccupyGhana urged Ghanaians to strive as a people to live up to a dying national maxim: \u201cCleanliness is next to Godliness\u201d<\/p>\n
–<\/p>\n
By: Farida Yusif\/citifmonline.com\/Ghana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Social and political non-partisan pressure group, OccupyGhana, is asking government to pay serious attention to overwhelming filth\u00a0in the country. According to them, the rate at which waste is engulfing the country is alarming and something must be done immediately to prevent potentially disastrous health and security problem to the country. [contextly_sidebar id=”UOhmhnkLYQKtw40OX4zWBgZOSEquJvDp”]\u201cOccupyGhana has noted with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":405705,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[5],"tags":[1583,3,1772],"yoast_head":"\n