Editorial: Open defecation must be punished

The Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, last Thursday launched the National Sanitation Day (NSD), with a call on metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to prosecute people who flout sanitation bye-laws.

The Vice-President’s call could not have come at a better time when cholera, a preventable disease, has needlessly claimed many lives and hospitalised thousands, with the government having to fall on scarce resources to manage those affected by the epidemic.

At the launch of the NSD, he said the day was to be observed every first Saturday of the month, with the first falling on November 1, 2014.

As important as the launch and subsequent implementation of the NSD may be, as a nation there is the need to look back and examine why we find ourselves in a situation where lives are lost to sanitation-related diseases.

The Bible admonishes that “cleanliness is next to Godliness” and the National Chief Imam, in a speech read on his behalf at the launch of the NSD, said cleanliness was an integral part of the Islamic religion.

 Traditional religion and other forms of religion also endorse cleanliness and that is why it is mind-boggling that for a nation that is said to be very religious, we have had to grapple with sanitation-related diseases.

Some years ago, chiefs and other traditional authorities penalised persons who undertook various acts that contravened laid-down practices on sanitation.

In those days, Town Council officials, popularly called “tankase”, a name that sent shivers down the spines of people,  compelled everybody to abide by sanitation regulations. 

But, today, in the era of democracy, we seem to have thrown caution to the wind and engage in acts that pollute the environment, thereby placing innocent lives at risk.

There is open defecation along the beaches, human excreta is put in plastic bags, popularly called take-away, and thrown any where, littering is done with careless abandon, while the law enforcement agencies look on helplessly.

Much as democracy grants rights to every citizen, it also enjoins the citizenry to be responsible and live up to their obligations as responsible citizens. 

But all we seem to care about as citizens is the insistence on our rights, leaving out our responsibilities.

Not too long ago, President John Mahama himself had to wield a spade in an effort to de-silt choked gutters. 

While his action was exemplary, it did not require the First Gentleman of the country to compel us to comply with sanitation laws. Those at the helm of affairs at the various MMDAs must be up to the task of enforcing the bye-laws.

Let’s crack the whip in order to get all citizens to keep their surroundings clean.