Koforidua, July 10, GNA - Mr Kwadwo Adjei- Darko, Minister of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, on Wednesday observed that the filth that had engulfed towns and cities was more of bad attitudes and behaviours of the citizenry than funds and capacity as was often indicated. "It is common to see people throwing garbage anyhow, simply because they perceived that the responsibility of clearing the filth is that of government and Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDA's)".
Mr Adjei Darko said this in a speech read on his behalf at the opening of a three-day conference, for the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organization (NGOs) in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), in Koforidua. He urged the participants to help change that perception before the situation got out of hand, adding that "managing waste must be everybody's responsibility". He said financing sanitation anywhere in the world was expensive and must not be left in the hands of government and the MMDA's alone but should be cost sharing. Mr Adjei- Darko urged all private and public sectors, traditional rulers, opinion leaders (NGOs), and the various religious bodies to cooperate and give their support in that direction. He said the Ministry was seriously considering a number of sustainable management options such as Waste Stock Exchange concept, which principally aimed at waste reduction, reuse, recycling and recovery.
"The waste we generate should be transformed into useful ventures for the benefit of the people and not just the wholesale disposal at landfills and dumpsites". The Minister announced a number of policies, plans, projects and programmes that had been initiated to ensure good sanitation management in the country.
These included the revision of the National Sanitation Policy, which is currently before Cabinet and the introduction of the Sanitation Guards in all the MMDA's to assist Environmental Health Officers in public education and sanitary laws enforcement among others. Mr Adjei- Darko urged the participants to come out with practical, innovative and sustainable strategies of improving sanitation in the country.
Mr Kwadwo Afram Asiedu, Eastern Regional Minister, said the economic, social and human cost of poor sanitation in the country was so high that if drastic measures were not adopted within the shortest possible time to address the situation the "gains we have made within the past 10 years in national reconstruction and development would be eroded". He said access to safe water and sanitation services had been an issue of serious concern to the Government, adding that, a number of programmes and projects had therefore been initiated with support from the donor community and NGOs. Mr Afram Asiedu appealed to Ghanaians to endeavor to respect the environment and minimize the current high rate of indiscriminate littering.
Mr Thomas Imoru Shaibu, Chairman of CONIWAS, in a welcoming address, acknowledge the support of CIDA, Water Aid, DANIDA/PMMS, UNICEF and the Royal Netherlands Embassy for supporting the conference. The conference dubbed MOLE 19th is under the theme "Reaching the MDGs for Sanitation: Options to Expand and Accelerate Coverage". 10 July 08
