Freda Prempeh inspecting the clean-up exercise at Glefe, Dansoman
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Freda Prempeh, on Saturday, September 30, 2023, joined residents in some communities in Accra to commemorate the World Clean-up Day with a call on Ghanaians to make conscious efforts to improve sanitation conditions in their environment.
World Clean-up Day is an annual global social action programme celebrated on September 16 every year across the globe.
It is aimed at combating the global solid waste and marine debris.
The Minister who was accompanied by some officers from the various Metropolitan, Municipal and Districts Assemblies (MMDAs) as well as staff of the Ministry visited some selected places where some clean-up exercise were carried out.
The selected areas included Tema station in Accra, Mpoase, Glefe at Dansoman, Tema Motorway and Nungua.
Traders at Tema station locked up their shops to start the exercise at 7am and desilted some choked drainage in various parts of the market.
Though the Minister was unhappy with the attendance, she commended the few who made it a priority and showed up.
She said a change in attitude was among the factors that could help address the challenge of poor sanitation in the country especially in Accra where most places are engulfed with filth.
She also advised the traders to segregate waste generated particularly at home to dispose them of easily.
She stated that certain communicable diseases could be prevented if little hygienic practices were observed in various homes.
She, therefore, appealed to the traders to join the Assemblies and the Ministry as it embarks on a monthly clean-up exercise in the Accra metropolis.
Second hand cloth dealer, Veronica Boadiwaa, on behalf of the traders thanked the Minister for the visit and assured her of their utmost cooperation to rid the city of filth.
The Minister’s next point of call was at Glefe, a suburb of Dansoman where residents cleaned and desilted some drains along the major roads in the area.
But the Minister expressed worry of a waste management site in the community which was predominantly occupied by children though she appreciated the efforts by the managers of the sites who had segregated volumes of plastic wastes.
The Minister who briefed the media after the exercise said a cleaner and healthier environment was paramount for nation building hence appealed to all households not to see cleaning as a preserve of only the state but collaboration with all stakeholders.
“We are cleaning for good health, we are cleaning for good environment, we are not cleaning for any individual, and we are cleaning for ourselves so let’s join hands with the Regional Coordinating Council, Ministry of Local Government to clean our frontages and other areas.
She stated the Ministry’s readiness to continuously collaborate with all stakeholders to address some of the insanitary conditions facing some urban communities by providing disposable bins especially in the urban communities.
According to her, apart from the periodic visit to communities to assess the sanitation situations, the Ministry will also embark on a clean-up exercise on the first Saturday of every month.
The Minister mentioned that her outfit would immediately collaborate with stakeholders to clear a major refuse site at Glefe in Dansoman which she observed during her visit.
She further hinted of the reintroduction of Sanitation guards which were highly noticeable in Ghanaian communities in the past given the current situation where most people are reluctant to embrace a change in their attitude.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah