Stop littering indiscriminately – Minister of Sanitation

General News of Monday, April 22, 2019

Source: ghananewsagency.org

2019-04-22

Ms. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR), described the situation in which indiscriminate debris, defecation and urination have become a norm in Ghana "totally unacceptable".

She said the poor sanitation attitude was to change drastically as it affected many segments of the economy and cost the nation money, time and suffering.

She expressed her surprise when one remembers overnight, the once-lawful Ghanaians became recalcitrant and developed a poor attitude towards the environment.

Ms. Dapaah stated this in a speech read to her by Mr. Anthony Mensah, Director of the MSWR, at the grand finale of the 2018 Concert Clean Ghana Challenge Concert Award, organized by the Clean Ghana Action Ambbadadors, a non-profit organization. government (NGO), at the national theater, in Accra.

The Challenge Concert Award aimed to provide young people with a platform to expose their hidden talents using creative art to educate people and enable them to become responsible to the world. ;environment.

She said, "This bad attitude has led to many diseases and conditions, with traumatic consequences for women and children, who bear the brunt of this burden.

"It has been estimated that more than 3,000 children under the age of five die each year in Ghana due to water and sanitation-related illnesses caused by diarrhea, facilitated by poor environmental conditions. by the population, "she said.

Ms. Dapaah said the only way to address this gloomy situation was to improve our attitudes, as everyone has a role to play in making Ghana a clean country.

She reiterated the need for a total commitment from everyone to avoid senseless deaths related to sanitation-related illnesses and urged the NGO to continue to support, empower and empower 39 educate young people about environmental issues.

Professor Stephen Adei, chairman of the National Development Planning Commission, who chaired the meeting, urged the government to strengthen the political will to put in place a strong policy, a control regime and to ensure that the population realizes the consequences of inadequate sanitation.

"We need to strengthen hygiene awareness and include all stakeholders, especially communities, to be at the forefront of improving sanitation," he said. he declared.

He advocated the imposition of a harsher sentence in order to create a favorable environment, as the personal approach was no longer adequate.