Founder of the Wonder Jesus Chapel International at Odumase-Krobo says sanitation offenders must first be educated on the need to ensure cleanliness before they are punished for future offences.
Cardinal Elijah Tetteh who believes that sanitation offenders must be punished for such offences, however, says most of them may be ignorant of the repercussions of their actions and may hence need to be enlightened on the need to be clean.
The lawyer was speaking at the inauguration of the Messiach Sanitation and Cleaning Services at Agomanya in the Eastern Region.
“Those who will offend the law must first be educated and after the education given to them and they still commit such crime, then such people should be punished,” he said.
According to him, he was concerned about the prevailing insanitary conditions in the municipality.
The firm, according to Cardinal Elijah Tetteh, would train some of its personnel who would on a daily basis, go round the various communities to ensure that residents ensured a clean environment for healthy living.
“Our main aim is that the Kroboland is being engulfed in filth which is choking the gutters, erosion at several places, the habit of residents pouring garbage into drainages when it rains among others,” he noted.
He maintained that the law enforcement agencies must enforce sanitation laws of the country by ensuring that persons who litter the surroundings must be made to clean the environment to bring discipline and sanity in the society.
Suggesting “appropriate” forms of punishment for sanitation offenders to deter them from further habits, the lawyer said, “What I think is that if the person must be punished for a sanitation offence such as throwing refuse into the gutter, then he needs to clean the gutter so that it serves as an example to others and that will be better than putting somebody into prison.”
According to him, the responsibility of ensuring a garbage-free environment did not lie solely in the hands of the government but the citizenry and called on the general public to ensure cleanliness at all times.
The Prophet and Seer expressed concern about the high level of environmental indiscipline exhibited by some members of the community and wondered why as a nation despite all the laws established, the country continues to grapple with serious sanitation challenges.
He expressed optimism that his initiative to deal with the menace through managing refuse in individual homes and institutions will bring sanity to the environment.
Chairman for the occasion and Sipim of Manya Aklomuase in the Manya Krobo Traditional Area, Nene Sipim Narh Tekpertey I in an interview with GhanaWeb was excited at the inauguration of the office to deal with sanitation-related challenges in Krobo communities.
“We all need to be very careful of how we keep our environment clean and that is why I’m happy that this company has come to exist in manya krobo,” said the traditional leader.
He charged residents to embrace the new establishment to address sanitation issues to ensure that they live a healthy lifestyle.
The agency is to among others educate the public on the need to ensure cleanliness at all places, render cleaning services to homes and organizations and care for the aged.