Security services tasked to help promote good practices to avert annual floods

The Commander of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, Alhaji Seidu Iddrisu, has urged the country’s security services to join the crusade in educating the public to reduce the recurrent floods.

“Everybody has a role to play, especially the security services. When you are in uniform, people listen to you more. The security services can help educate the public on the need to stop throwing rubbish into gutters and to properly dispose of their refuse,” he said.

He made the call when the Ghana National Scholarship Beneficiaries Association (GNSBA), with support from Fan Milk Ghana Limited, presented 100 garbage bins and assorted products and souvenirs of Fan Milk to the division in Accra last Thursday.

The donation formed part of Fan Milk Ghana’s support for a cleaner environment.

Alhaji Seidu said uniformed officers could use their uniform not to intimidate the public but for a cause that would promote good environmental practices. 

He said the bins would be placed at vantage points in the offices of the Customs Division. 

Flooding

Torrential rains this month caused floods in parts of Accra and Tema that resulted in the loss of one life and the destruction of properties.

Accra experienced its worst natural disaster on June 3 last year when torrential rains caused floods which, together with fire that broke out when leaked fuel was ignited at the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, caused loss of many lives and the destruction of properties.

More than 150 lives were lost in the twin disaster. The victims were mainly people who had taken shelter at a filling station because of the floods.

Alhaji Seidu said such disasters could be avoided if the public collectively took responsibility to ensure that drains were kept clean.

Sanitation challenges

The acting Commissioner of the division, Mr John Vianney Kuudamnuru, who received the items, promised they would be put to good use.

He also urged the public to put more effort into keeping their environment clean, adding that the recent floods exposed the depth of the country’s sanitation challenges. 

The Business Development Manager of Fan Milk Ghana, Mr Dziedzorm Gbologa, said the company believed its business could only thrive in an environment in which people were healthy. 

He said the company’s initiative, which had been extended to the police and prisons, was its corporate social responsibility to ensure that the public lived “healthy lives to patronise our products”.