Ghana may ban use of plastics — President Mahama

The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has warned that Ghana may go the 'Rwanda way' by banning the use of plastics if producers fail to properly manage plastic waste.

“It has become such a pernicious pollutant. If producers of plastics don’t do something about it, then we may have to go the Rwanda way. In Rwanda, plastics are banned; nobody uses plastics and yet they are surviving,” he said.

He was addressing members of the El-Wak Keep Fit Club in Accra last Saturday after a health walk to mark Republic Day.

The exercise, which was meant to instil healthy living in the people, attracted very good participation.

Rwanda example

In 2008, Rwanda, still recovering from the mid-1990s genocide, outlawed the use of non-biodegradable plastic bags.

What made the East African country receive international commendation was that the decision came with stiff punishment for offenders.

While the law prohibited the manufacture, use, importation and sale of plastic bags, it also carried a one-year sentence and huge fines for offenders.

The move was to protect the environment, as people continued to litter the streets, obstruct sewer systems and hurt marine life with the plastic materials.

Ghana has been going through similar challenges in its cities and towns, as plastic waste litters everywhere, with all the attendant health and environmental threats.

Enforcing sanitation laws

President Mahama asked metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to strictly enforce their bye-laws on sanitation to check the impunity with which people abuse the system.

He said observing good sanitation practices was everybody’s responsibility.

He expressed concern over the lukewarm attitude of some people to the National Sanitation Day exercise.

President Mahama said the time had come for sanitary inspectors, known in local parlance as ‘saman saman’, to reintroduce the prosecution of people who infringed on environmental bye-laws.

He said sanitation inspectors were no longer feared because they were not strictly enforcing the bye-laws.

Healthy lifestyle

The President urged the people to lead lives that were not injurious to their health and said many people were dying because of their lifestyles.

The Chairman of the El-Wak Keep Fit Club, Mr Abdul Karim Hatsu, said a 30-minute exercise three times a week was the best medicine one could take.

“Keeping fit boosts our energy levels, reduces our weight and promotes better and sounder sleep,” he said.