With its capital city engulfed in filth, the United States Ambassador to Ghana, Robert P. Jackson has admonished that Ghana needs to go the extra mile when it comes to keeping the country spick and span.
Over the years, the issue of sanitation has been a recurring battle which does not seem to come to an end. Studies, revealed that the lack of clean drinking water and sanitation systems is a severe public health concern in Ghana, contributing to 70% of diseases in the country.
Robert Jackson buttressed the report by lamenting on the unappealing conditions on how most of the country’s beaches are ridden with dirt, the unpleasantness of people defecating at open places and infiltrated water system.
On the other hand, the competence of Sanitation Minister, Kofi Adda, has been a subject of public debate, particularly in the last three months, with questions about why many parts of the country remain in filth despite the existence of his ministry.
Further attention was drawn to the appalling sanitary situations in the country when Media General’s broadcast journalist and social media activist Kwakye Afreh-Nuamah openly criticized the government official for not living up to the task by ensuring the menace was solved.
Kofi Adda, who did not take the accusations lightly took a swipe at critics who said he has performed poorly in office. In a rebuttal, the Minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Navrongo Central, said the bashing he has received is "based on lack of education, they are ill-informed and I shudder to say, they may be mischievous.”
He noted that the responsibility of cleaning Accra and other cities is the primary responsibility of the local assemblies where in a recent comment he blamed waste management service provider Zoomlion for the filth which has engulfed the city of Accra and the entire country.
"I will blame it squarely on Zoomlion" Joseph Kofi Adda said at a forum where the CEO of the waste management company was present.
"We generate waste every day, so must we sweep every day. We ought to sweep, collect transport and dispose of every day. I don't think for the past year or so Zoomlion has done so well on that", he said.
In a rebuttal the Chief Executive Officer of waste management company, Joseph Siaw Agyapong, said his company’s quest to rid the city of filth is yielding positive results as the streets are now clean.
“When you look on the streets now, everywhere is clean, everywhere is neat,” Mr Agyapong said.
With Accra evidently besieged with rubbish as well drains choked with solid materials, Robert Jackson charged Ghanaians to take up the task of dealing with problems of open defecation, littering, and unhygienic water reserves which he said are the core roots of the canker.
“I think Ghanaians need to pay a lot more attention to sanitation. It’s a well-known fact that open defecation is a huge problem here. That the water reserve is clogged with plastic. The beaches are not generally very clean. And these are resources Ghanaians need, particularly beaches but also the sanitation system – the water system.”
Queried on whether he would classify the citizens as dirty people when he took his turn on ’21 minutes with KKB’, the Ambassador hesitantly said “it’s not about people being dirty or clean, it’s about good habits. And I will say waste and open defecation are tolerated here.”
He stressed on the importance of educating people on the risk of this category of environmental pollution which has a negative effect on individual’s health.
“The water that is produced for people to use in their homes is leaving the water treatment plants very clean. But because of the pollution and the environment, the water that runs from your tap is not as clean as it should necessarily be.”
He continued, “We need to sensitize people to the impact that they are having on their own health and their own environment. There needs to be more education so that people understand the implications of what they are doing. ”
Apparently, the US Ambassador is not the only Diplomat to raise concern over the issue. Filth, that have engulfed the city of Accra also caught the attention of Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Andrew Barnes, who has asked Ghanaian authorities to up their game to meet President Akufo-Addo’s promise to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa by 2020.
The High Commissioner, who appeared shocked with the filth very close to the High Commission in Cantonments, took to Twitter to vent his frustration.
In a bid to draw the government’s attention to correct the situation, the tweet read: “The scene this morning in the street near our High Commission: encourage the local authorities to step up their effort to meet the President’s @flagstaffghana promise to make #Accra the cleanest city in #Africa by 2020. #sanitation.”
The scene this morning in the street near our High Commission: encourage the local authorities to step up their effort to meet the President’s @flagstaffghana promise to make #Accra the cleanest city in #Africa by 2020. #sanitation pic.twitter.com/WX2FuksqX6
— Andrew Barnes (@AusAmbGHA) January 24, 2018
With the hoping of eradicating filth in the country and especially open defecation, Ambassador Jackson disclosed a collaboration between the USAID and a Ghanaian company, he did not disclose, to make available “affordable” latrines/toilet facilities to various homes.
“We’re making some end ropes.” He resolved.
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