Zoom Alliance introduces Cleanest Market Competition
Markets are places where food is sold but often, they are found in filth and stench, a situation which gravely affects public health.
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To stem the tide and promote sound sanitation in markets, Zoom Alliance has introduced a ‘Cleanest Market’ competition to promote environmental sanitation in markets in the Greater Accra Region.
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Akwasi Opong-Fosu, who made this known, said when the programme, now at the preparatory stage, began, the market which would emerge as the cleanest would be presented with a plaque to be displayed at a major point of entry into that market.
Receiving the final report on a one-month intensive clean-up exercise in the Greater Accra Region by Zoom Alliance, Mr Opong-Fosu stated that the leader of the cleanest market would also be adequately rewarded.
“The programme will reward the market that is adjudged the cleanest in that month, with a plaque and a huge media publicity to direct people to patronise goods from that market.
Also to benefit would be the supervising assembly for having produced the cleanest market.
Mr Opong-Fosu announced that the competition would be held every month and encouraged market leaders to participate in it.
The report
In the one-month exercise, personnel of Zoom Alliance, according to its Managing Director, Mr A. B. Adjei, cleared 11 refuse heaps of about 50,000 tons of waste, cleaned 11 markets and cleared 12 choked drains.
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Mr Adjei indicated that sustaining sound environmental sanitation had never been more urgent, but indicated that indiscriminate littering had made solid waste management difficult and expensive.
“It is a huge drain on our economy but the good thing is that it can be avoided,” Mr Adjei stated.
Zoom Alliance embarked on the month-long intensive clean-up to support assemblies and solid waste contractors to deal with rising environmental sanitation challenges in their respective areas.
Mr Adjei said the presentation of the report signalled the completion of its work, and urged the assemblies to engage competent solid waste contractors to continue.
Draining resources into drains
Drains at Agbogbloshie, for instance, were back to their usual choked conditions, mostly just a day after they had been cleared, and that, according to Mr Adjei, posed a huge challenge in desilting works in that market.
According to Mr Adjei, it was also disheartening and discouraging to find people freely littering while personnel of Zoom Alliance attempt to clean the markets.
Recommendation
To address issues related to the constant choking of drains, the report recommended that open spaces should be specifically created in the markets to enable trucks which loaded and unloaded foodstuffs to do so there, thus discouraging them from doing so along the shoulders of roads by the markets, particularly at Agbogboloshie.
The report also called for the strict enforcement of bye-laws, which, it said, was the only way to discourage people from indiscriminate littering and other negative environmental practices.
Traders, according to the report, should also be prevented from selling on the shoulders of roads, as their food-stuffs, especially the rotten ones, easily found their way into the drains.
Daily Graphic/Ghana