NCCE commences 2019 citizenship week in Ningo-Prampram

The Ningo-Prampram office of the National Commission on Civic Education (NCCE) has commenced the 2019 citizenship week celebration with a call on children and the youth to be agents of environmental change.

The European Union funded week celebration which is on the theme: "A clean Ghana, our responsibility, " is a sub celebration of the Annual Constitution Week which was introduced by the NCCE in 2012.

Officials of the NCCE and a resource person interacted with pupils of Dawhenya D.A. School, And Methodist A and B schools.

A total of 50 schools are to be visited by the officials during the week long celebration.

Very Reverend Moses Tetteh Terkper, Minister in charge of Bethel Methodist Church, Dawhenya, speaking as the resource person, said instead of joining in the littering of the environment and improper disposal of refuse, the youth must endeavour to be agents of good sanitation practices.

He said the youth must educate their peers, relatives, neighbours and the general public on the negative effect of improper waste disposal and bad environmental practices on plants, farm lands, water bodies, among others.

Very Rev. Terkper said it was sad that future generations would have to suffer the consequences of the bad environment practices of the current generation.

Various research indicated that it would take between 50 and 600 years for various types of plastics to decompose, he said.

He bemoaned the way travellers threw refuse away from moving vehicles, not caring were it would end up and advised commuters to either put empty water sachets in their vehicle, pockets or bags and properly dispose them off when they arrive at their destination.

He further encouraged women to desist from littering the environment with plastic bags that they were served with at the market and rather endeavour to use baskets or sacks to carry their goods from the market.

The Reverend Minister recounted how food vendors used to sell with leaves, paper And wooden cups and plates stating that plastic was now the order of the day.

He regretted that waste in the past was organic and used as manure for farming but now due to plastic use, dumping grounds could not be utilized for farming as household refuse were full of non degradable plastics.

Very Rev. Terkper also challenged children to stop eating from polythene bags as it contained a lot of toxics saying "now you will see children put food in polythene, tear part and be chewing the food with the rubber".

Madam Gifty Agyeiwaa Badu, Ningo-Prampram NCCE Director, on her part, asked Ghanaians to see it as their responsibility to keep their environment clean as in addition to its health benefits, the 1992 Constitution of Ghana placed an obligation on every citizen to protect and safeguard the environment for posterity.

Madam Badu also noted that the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) SIX also sought to "ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all" while the SDG 14 demanded the conservation and sustainable use of the oceans, seas and marine resources to drive global systems that make the earth habitable for humankind.

She added that SDG 14 further sought to "prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds, in particular from landbased activities, including marine debris and nutrient pollution.