Mohammed Adjei Sowah
Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive Thursday, said from Monday, April 15, 2019 the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) would intensify the enforcement of its bye-laws on littering.
He said the Assembly was committed to the vision of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa and urged the residents to put their shoulders to the wheel to help improve sanitation and reduce noise pollution.
Mr Sowah made this known at a day’s stakeholders’ engagement with the residents of Ashiedu Keteke in Accra.
“We have been enforcing the laws, but we will be intensifying the enforcement come Monday. Over 200 persons were prosecuted for various sanitation offences in the first quarter of 2019,” he said.
The Chief Executive said the AMA would pilot its waste segregation programme within the Ashiedu Keteke Sub Metropolitan Area as part of efforts to sustainably manage waste in the city.
He cautioned residents who dump their refuse into gutters in the area to desist from the act and that they should engage with accredited waste collectors to handle their refuse.
Mr Victor Acquaye, the Head of Public Health Department of the AMA explained that the AMA 2017 bye-laws mandated citizens not to dispose of their waste at unauthorised places and also to ensure that they clean their immediate surroundings.
“If your house is closer to a gutter or the roadside, you have to clean that place because that is what the law says. It is not the work of the Assembly. Failure to comply will attract sanctions,” he said.
Touching on noise pollution, Mr Acquaye said the Environmental Protection Agency permissible noise level in Accra should be 55 decibels during the day and 45 decibels at night and urged all to adhere to that.
Mr Solomon Noye, the Head of Waste Management at the AMA said wastes dumped at unauthorised places end up polluting the ocean, which create health problem to humanity and urged the residents to avoid such attitude.
The Ashiedu Keteke Sub Metro covers communities like Ga Mashie, Central Business District, Agbogbloshie, among other areas.
