Keeping the environment clean our joint responsibility
When a former Greater Accra Regional Minister, Sheikh I.C. Quaye, told Parliament on February 22, 2007 that mosquitoes did not need his permission, visa or ticket to fly from one region of the country to another, many just laughed over the statement and made fun of him.
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However, the minister was stressing that although efforts were being made to bring down the cases of malaria in the country, so long as there were breeding grounds for mosquitoes, they could be carried miles away to any area, even to Europe and America.
Mosquitoes and other disease vectors breed in filth and so long as the conditions exist in our backyards and communities, malaria will continue to be a disease that we have to grapple with as a country.
The good news, however, is that we have the power to rid the country of disease vectors or control their population if we go back to the habit of always keeping our environment clean.
It was in an attempt to bring back the communal spirit that saw residents always working together to rid their areas of filth, clearing choked gutters and drains, trimming hedges, among other clean-up exercises, that the government introduced the National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise in 2014.
The Daily Graphic, however, finds it unfortunate that the exercise has now been politicised. The politicisation of such an important exercise that is expected to ensure cleanliness in our communities and promote good health among the population is very sad, indeed.
Ghanaians used to participate in keeping clean surroundings at all times of the year, especially during the rainy season. Now we find people look on unconcerned as filth piles up just next door.
Even when people attempt to clear up the filth, community members look on unconcerned. Some even believe that since people are paid to clear heaps of rubbish in the cities and towns, they are free to throw rubbish anywhere.
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Others make remarks such as: “If we do not litter, Zoomlion workers will not get any work to do.” Aside from making such uninformed remarks, others make an attempt to keep their environs clean only when they see sanitary inspectors in their vicinity.
The Daily Graphic urges metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to own the NSD and provide the needed support for the various communities in their jurisdictions not only on the first Saturday of each month but throughout the month.
We, nevertheless, ask that individuals become more conscious of their environment and ensure that it is clean at all times. We especially ask the public to name and shame those who do not keep their environments clean at all times.
After all, as Sheikh Quaye put it succinctly nine years ago, mosquitoes do not need visa or ticket to travel; "they can be carried miles into any territory, even to Europe and America. Consequently, we cannot control the influx of mosquitoes into the Greater Accra Region".
Let us all act responsibly; more so as the rains have begun in earnest. Let us hand over all flouters of our sanitation bye-laws to the sanitation courts. Let us rid our country of filth. And, more important, let us respect the advice of Mr Robert Coleman, the Communications Manager of Zoomlion, to desist from politicising the sanitation exercise.