Accra residents indifferent to sanitation day
The lackadaisical attitude of residents of Accra towards the observation of the National Sanitation Day (NSD) was on display last Saturday.
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A few shop owners closed their shops to clean their surroundings, while many others opened their shops without any attempt to take part in the activities.
The lack of interest in NSD activities has contributed to compounding the poor sanitation situation in Accra.
The NSD was instituted by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in 2014 as part of measures to whip up interest in proper sanitation management and environmental cleanliness.
The day, which falls on the first Saturday of every month, requires members of the public to stay away from their business ventures until after 10 a.m. to clean their surroundings.
Observation
Monitoring the clean-up exercise, the Coordinating Director of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mr Samuel Ayeh-Dateh, said while the assembly made efforts to enforce sanitation bye-laws in the metropolis, it also ensured that residents of the metropolis took interest in NSD activities.
In line with that, the assembly, during the exercise last Saturday, issued summons to some households that did not keep their environment clean to face court action, while it also issued warnings to landlords to install septic tanks in their homes or face prosecution.
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The AMA task force locked shops and ordered residents to clean their environment.
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At Abelemkpe, assembly officials observed that most of the households discharged the sewage directly into the gutters instead of connecting their sewage through a septic tank.
While some shop owners mismanaged their waste, some households did not have proper ways of disposing of their waste.
Mr Ayeh-Dateh warned the public to ensure that waste was properly managed at their various homes and workplaces.
He said the AMA task force would be visiting homes across the metropolis to issue court summons to sanitation offenders.
At the Abossey Okai market, however, shops were closed while shop owners cleaned the surroundings.
Meanwhile, some broken-down vehicles had been parked on the pavements of the main road while mechanics worked on them.
The Waste Management Director at AMA, Mr Anthony Mensah, said the AMA would ensure that people observed the sanitation day by partaking in all activities.
He indicated that the Public Health Department of the assembly was going round to ensure that people obeyed the sanitation bye-laws.
He, therefore, urged the public to call on the AMA for assistance to collect refuse whenever they cleaned their surroundings to avoid heaps of refuse on the streets.