Mr. Emmanuel Volsuuri, Upper West Regional Manager of Zoom Lion Ghana Limited, a sanitation company, has called on the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to implement their bye-laws on sanitation offences to foster behavioural change.
He said imposition of fines on offenders could serve as a source of mobilising revenue for development projects.
Mr. Volsuuri made the call in Wa on Saturday at the launch of a regional sanitation campaign as part of a short term national strategy to clean the country of filth before the end of the year.
He said if the sensitisation of the public on good sanitation was backed by strict enforcement of sanitation bye-laws with emphasis on prosecutions and fines, many of the challenges would be overcome.
Activities lined up for the campaign include, sweeping of markets, lorry parks and streets, desilting of drains, evacuation of heaps of refuse, clearing of bushy environment, picking of plastic bags, fumigation of the environment and deodorisation of public toilets.
Zoomlion has provided logistics such as refuse containers, pay loaders, refuse trucks, shovels, rakes, wheelbarrows, Wellington boots, nose masks and hand gloves for the exercise.
The Zoomlion Regional Manager urged politicians to devote a little of their campaign time to talk about sanitation issues so that the people would see the need to change their behaviour and attitude towards the subject.
Alhaji Amidu Suleman, Upper West Regional Minister said government was committed to ensuring a healthy environment and a healthy people but noted that no amount of money could solve the problem if the people refused to change their attitude.
He said at the end of the three months of the sanitation campaign, all the Assemblies would be assessed and graded and they must therefore ensure that all citizens were involved in the exercise.
The Regional Minister warned residents of Wa against open defecation in the Wa forest which was becoming alarming since the faeces could be washed into water sources to cause cholera outbreak.
