Sanitation Day is national duty call
The Local Government Workers’ Union (LGWU) has urged Ghanaians to see the National Sanitation Day programme as a call to national duty requiring that all citizens adopt a positive outlook to sanitation as we travel 2015 and beyond.
Advertisement
The union observed that such an important national exercise, instituted by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) and geared towards bringing about a healthy environment, should not be undermined through apathy.
Participation
“As a labour organisation, we wish to call on all employees of metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to actively participate in the National Sanitation Programme, because poor sanitation comes with a cost to health through the contracting of preventable diseases such as cholera which invariably affects productivity,” it said. These were contained in a New Year message released by the union in Accra and signed by its General Secretary, Mr Joe Baiden.
It urged Ghanaians to cultivate a culture of ensuring proper sanitation at all times in order to bring about a reduction in the number of heaps of refuse in towns and cities across the country.
Solid support
“The LGWU also solidly supports all efforts by the MMDAs to ensure that food vendors conduct their activities in hygienic conditions so that the risk of contracting cholera and related ailments could be eliminated.
“The LGWU leadership further urges the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development through the sector minister to expedite action in engaging graduates from the three schools of hygiene in the country, who are currently without employment after having been trained with the tax payers’ money,” it said.
The LGWU was of the opinion that engaging the services of the graduates of the Schools of Hygiene could immensely help in ensuring improved sanitation all over the country.
The union urged the Environmental Sanitation Service Providers to come up with innovative measures of making Ghanaians accept the practice of separating their waste.
Other Trending Stories
“Waste segregation and management should be given a priority in 2015,” the LGWU said.
It also cautioned against complacency among Ghanaians with regard to the deadly ebola disease. It called for practical and easy-to-follow measures to prevent any outbreak of ebola in Ghana.
Energy crisis
“We acknowledge the trying times Ghanaians are going through with regard to the crisis in energy. This obviously is having a toll on all aspect of national life from the household level to industry and service delivery sectors of the economy”.
The LGWU, under the circumstances, has urged the government to marshall resources, including having Ghanaian technical experts both home and abroad to find a lasting solution to the energy problem. It said the nation must not take risks with the energy situation by playing politics with it.