Nana Anim (3rd from right) presenting the dust bins to the people of Nzulenzo
The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture (MoTAC) has begun constructing toilet facilities at some coastal areas nationwide to halt open defecation along the coast of the country.
Besides, the ministry has started distributing jumbo-plastic-dust bins to some tourist sites in order to deal with indiscriminate disposal of wastes around tourist attractions in the country.
Recently, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Catherine Abelema Afeku, promised that her outfit would soon commence the construction of toilet facilities at beaches across the country as part of measures by government to curb open defecation and promote tourism.
The Tourism Ministry started fulfilling the promise last Thursday when it distributed a number of jumbo-plastic-dust bins to the chief and people of Nzulenzo, a village built entirely on stilts on Lake Amanzuri in the Jomoro District of the Western Region. The dust bins are to help improve the general sanitation situation at the village, which is one of the country’s tourist attractions.
Additionally, a taskforce with representatives from the traditional authorities and the youth of the area was formed to arrest and punish people who would decide not to put refuse in the bins but would indiscriminately dispose them of in the area.
Construction of toilet facilities by the ministry has also begun at Axim in the Western Region, where some old KVIP toilets had been pulled down to allow for the construction of modern Water Closet (WC) facilities for the people along the coast.
The Co-ordinator of Beach Tourism Sanitation Programmes and Projects under MoTAC, Okatakyie Nana Anim, visited Nzulenzo to distribute the dust bins on behalf of the minister and later visited Axim to inspect the projects.
He stressed that the most practical way for the ministry to win the sanitation fight at Nzulenzo was to give the people dust bins to ensure proper disposal of waste generated at the village.
“Prior to our coming here, the people at Nzulenzo were disposing of the waste generated into the river and that was uncomfortable to tourists who visited the village due to the volume of filth in the river”, he noted.
He believed that sanitation was a major challenge at the village and that the setting up of the task force and the provision of the dust bins would go a long way to boost tourism at Nzulenzo.
“The village needs a proper waste management system to manage the waste generated by the locals and tourists. This would enable tourists stay longer”, he added.
According to him, open defecation in Ghana, which has become pervasive and worrisome, is not because of lack of toilet facilities; it is due to inadequate toilet facilities for the masses.
“We want to assume that the toilets are not enough but we will build more and hire people from the communities to keep them clean” he assured them.
With the toilet facilities in place, Nana Anim noted that the residents of the ancient coastal community would no longer hide behind unavailability of toilets to deface the beachfronts.
In addition to ending the menace, the facilities, he indicated, would also provide jobs for the teeming youth in the coastal communities while proceeds could be channelled into other developmental projects. He mentioned that the next region to benefit would be the Volta Region, where more toilet facilities would be constructed along the coast, including the distribution of dust bins at tourist sites.
He cautioned the people in the coastal areas against the practice of open defecation and warned that perpetrators of the act would be severely dealt with.
The District Chief Executive for Nzema East Municipal Assembly, Frank Okpeyen, stressed that measures had already been put in place to ensure sanitation remains the topmost priority in the municipality.
He urged members of the yet-to-be-inaugurated taskforce to ensure that people who were caught littering around were arrested adding “they might be made to pay a fine and also compelled to engage in communal labour in the area”.
From Emmanuel Opoku, Nzulenzo