Stirring the conscience of the nation
It is the belief that as society grows, it also becomes more dynamic. But that dynamism should result in growth and development in all sectors of the economy.
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That is why it is mind-boggling that in this country, it is rather when we are supposed to be growing that we retrogress.
Fifty-seven years after independence, we are now naming our streets; our roads are bad, we are battling with power supply, we cannot feed ourselves, and these are a few of our problems.
Perhaps the most disheartening challenge is the prevalence of communicable diseases – cholera, malaria, chicken pox, guinea worm, among other health conditions.
Worse still is the fact that the cholera outbreak in the country has assumed epidemic proportions and, like a plague, affected hundreds of lives. It is against the backdrop of this disturbing and nauseating situation that the Daily Graphic has today decided to devote its front page and other pages to the despicable sanitation catastrophe in the country.
Forgive us, for we know that our publication today will surely offend the sensibilities of our readers, but we have decided to highlight this to give more meaning to the adage: Cleanliness is next to Godliness.
More importantly, we have taken this path to name and shame the offenders, in the hope that the ‘scandal’ will lead to behavioural change.
The Daily Graphic has lost count of the number of times the issue has come up in the media, but it looks as if the people are not mindful of the effects of our acts of omission and commission on the development process.
Is that why our people openly defaecate along our beaches, which are supposed to be a tourist attraction?
Again, we want to know the reasons our drains are choked with refuse, including human excreta wrapped in plastic bags, also referred to as ‘take away’.
Forgive us for spoiling your breakfast, but it is sad and, indeed, regrettable that people don’t seem to care about the spread of cholera, which has caused so much pain and distress to victims and their families.
The Daily Graphic insists that there is the need for immediate attitudinal and behavioural change.
We were not surprised that the alarming fatality rate occasioned by the outbreak of cholera resulting from filth and insanitary conditions compelled President John Dramani Mahama to descend into the choked gutters to offer a helping hand in clearing them of filth as a mark of his abhorrence of the avoidable mishap.
But the Daily Graphic would want to state unequivocally that the President’s action should have been accompanied by the sanctioning of the people placed in responsible positions to ensure good sanitation.
In spite of the President’s gesture, people continue to sell under unhygienic conditions, defaecate indiscriminately and litter the streets and gutters with careless abandon.
We dare ask: What has changed after the President’s visit?
It is about time persons placed in responsible positions discharged such duties with all seriousness or resigned and gave way to more competent people, otherwise, the appointing authority should not hesitate to fire them.
After all, the President “appoints and disappoints”!!!