Govt reaffirms commitment to solving sanitation problems

The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) has reaffirmed its commitment towards attaining President Akufo-Addo’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city by inaugurating a special a Taskforce on Environmental Sanitation.

The Taskforce is to assess the current solid waste management challenges and propose workable solutions, coordinate the performances of the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to provide effective sanitation service delivery and monitor the work of service providers.

The ministries of Works and Housing, Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Local Government and Rural Development, Roads and Highways, Tourism, Culture and Creative Arts, Information, and Inner City and Zongo Development make up the Taskforce, which has 12 months to come out with a holistic plan.

The Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council and four municipal chief executives under the Accra Metropolitan Assembly are also represented on the Taskforce.

The sector ministers of the above ministries are automatic members of the Taskforce with the MSWR being the Chair.

Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, who inaugurated it, said this was to scale up the fight against the insanitary conditions in the Metropolis.

She said the Taskforce would deploy all necessary means within the confines of the law to ensure the cities were clean in pursuant to the collective vision of the country.

“One recalls and wonders how overnight the once law-abiding Ghanaian has become recalcitrant and developed poor attitude towards the environment,” she said.

Madam Dapaah said poor sanitation impacted negatively on so many segments of the economy, costing the nation money, time and pain.

“This attitude has led to numerous diseases and conditions,” she said, adding that each and everyone had a role to play in making Ghana a clean nation.

She said the MMDAs could not do it alone and needed the support of residents to keep the cities clean.

The Minister called on the media to intensify their campaign on sanitation to help resolve the menace.