Sanitation offenders to face the law
People who break laws on sanitation, including the dumping of refuse at unauthorised places within Accra, would be charged with contravening the Public Health Act (2012) and put before the sanitation court.
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The move is part of efforts by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to rid the city of filth.
The AMA has, therefore, began a process of refurbishing all sanitation and motor courts in the metropolis to help check people who pollute the environment.
The Chief Executive of the AMA, Mr Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, who disclosed this, said the assembly was also holding discussions with the Accra Regional Police Command for the possibility to deploy police officers to enforce sanitation by-laws and support the fight to rid the city of filth.
He was speaking to journalists last Saturday when officials of the AMA, as part of the observation of the National Sanitation Day (NSD), visited some parts of the metropolis to monitor the exercise.
"From now onwards, the enforcement of the by-laws will not end at just issuing sermons to offenders because we will drag the culprits to sanitation courts so that they will face the law. Currently, we are refurbishing our sanitation courts located in some sub-metros at Abeka, Kwame Nkrumah Circle and Ablekuma Central. Some of these courts are in a deplorable state so renovation work will begin on them from next month to put them in good shape," he said.
NSD
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 falls on the first Saturday of every month and it requires members of the public to stay away from their business ventures until after 10 a.m. and actively take part in activities to keep their surroundings clean.
Apathy
There has, however, been a general show of apathy by members of the public towards environmental cleanliness.
The lackadaisical attitude towards proper waste disposal that has left some parts of the capital city engulfed in filth was on display last Saturday.
When the team, which comprised officials of AMA, Rapid Response Unit (RRU) of AMA and the police visited some parts of Accra, there were mixed reactions to the exercise.
In some of the areas such as Abossey Okai, Salaga and London Markets at Jamestown in the Central Business District of Accra, Okaishie, and the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, many residents and the business community were going about their business activities without showing any interest in the clean-up exercise.
Some were, however, engaged in one clean up exercise or the other.
The RRU of the AMA cleared the wares of some of the traders who were selling along the shoulders of the road and at other unapproved areas.
Piles of refuse that had been cleared from the choked gutters were placed in the middle of the road, particularly at Tema Station and Jamestown areas, obstructing vehicular movement.
Collaboration
On the way forward to winning the fight against bad sanitation practices, Nii Adjei Sowah said that move required collaboration by all stakeholders and attitudinal change, stressing that "even if we bring God to be the Mayor of Accra but fail to change our attitude, we will continue to suffer from the negative effects of filth."
He made a special appeal to people in Ga Mashie to use the upcoming Homowo Festival as a reference point to set an agenda to rid the city of filth.
He also charged owners of public facilities to put proper measures in place to keep their surroundings clean and also dispose of waste properly.
Sanitation Courts
The first sanitation court in Greater Accra was inaugurated on September 15, 2010 at the Ablekuma Central sub-metro by the AMA as part of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) water and sanitation project under the millennium city initiative.
In line with subsections 29 and 296 of the Criminal Code, 1960, the sanitation courts were required to try cases related to the sale of unwholesome food and those engaged in notorious trade and also prosecute the owners of stray animals.
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