Walewale (N/R), Sept 8, GNA - Mr Abdul-Karim Amadu, West Mamprusi District Chief Executive, said at the weekend that by adhering to the rules of good sanitation, people in the district would save huge sums of money that the government spends on the procurement of drugs.
He said malaria, typhoid and cholera that constantly afflict the people stem from poor sanitation and are preventable.
"We can use our hard-won money to improve our individual lives and develop our nation by cultivating the habit of cleaning around our houses and public places in our communities.''
Mr Amadu said this when he launched the district's Sanitation Week at Nabari, near Wulugu.
He said government is of the conviction that a healthy and sound human resource base is an indispensable ingredient in the national development agenda, hence the declaration of the annual sanitation week to sensitise the people on the importance of cleanliness.
Mr Amadu said the government has provided 100 million cedis as seed money for the take-off of the Health Insurance Scheme in the district. He called for practical commitment on the part of the people to make the implementation of the scheme a reality.
Mr Amadu said three boreholes have been earmarked for Nabari under the Social Investment Fund (SIF), while more hand-dug wells would be sunk in various parts of the district.
He cautioned against indiscriminate bush burning as well as tree felling for charcoal and urged the inhabitants of the area to embrace the National Plantation Project by establishing woodlots in their communities as a check against deforestation.
Mr Amadu made reference to an incident last year when bushfire burnt down part of the forest reserve along the White Volta basin in the district and warned against a recurrence of such incidents.
The chief of Nabari, Nabar-Rana Mantabliya, reaffirmed the commitment of people in his traditional area to the national forestation campaign and his people to report to him any persons they find embarking on group hunting in the area.
The chief appealed to the district assembly to provide accommodation for teachers in the village to help retain them because they commune between Nabari and Walewale daily to the detriment of effective class work.
