Local Govt Ministry to register household for wastebins

Mr Julius Debrah, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, has announced that the Ministry would register all households in the country for the distribution of free waste bins.

The exercise, he said, would be done across the country in collaboration with the National Service Secretariat.

The exercise would complement the National Sanitation Day (NSD) Campaign, instituted by the Local Government Ministry to instill the habit of clean-up exercises and to change the negative attitudes towards waste disposal.

Mr Debrah was speaking to the Ghana News Agency, in Kumasi after he inspected sanitation logistics and equipment gathered for the NSD exercise in the city.

They included 10,000 waste bins, wheel barrows, rakes, long brooms, shovels and detergents.

He said the objective of distributing the free bins was to within the shortest possible time achieve its goal of controlling the indiscriminate disposal of garbage to ensure a clean Ghana.

“It is also a much needed intervention in waste and sanitation management to help eliminate public health challenges,” he explained.

Mr Debrah attributed the problem of indiscriminate waste disposal to the lack of public education about the dangers and effects of the practice and said the Ministry would step up its public education and awareness creation to halt the situation.

He said Accra alone generated about 80 per cent of organic waste, daily, hence the need for the people to keep the environment clean to prevent the outbreak of diseases like cholera, which retarded development.

The Minister said, the Ministry was ready to partner with any institution, group, or individuals, and stakeholders , to solve the waste and sanitation problem in the country, especially in the major cities.

Mr Debrah recognised the role played by some prominent individuals, institutions, and the private sector, to make the campaign a success and thanked them for the support to ensure good sanitary practices in the country.

The NSD campaign was launched on September 17, 2014.