City Authorities Blamed For Poor Sanitation

The deplorable sanitation in Accra has been blamed on the inability of the city authorities to deal with the tonnes of waste generated daily. Clean Ghana Now (CGN), a group of concerned citizens of Accra, is, therefore, calling on the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and other local authorities to create the necessary facilities for effective and affordable refuse collection. The spokesperson for the CGN, Mr Kobina Nyanten, made the call when the group petitioned the AMA to deal with the filth situation that had engulfed the metropolis. The group had earlier marched through some principal streets of Accra to register their displeasure at the poor sanitation in the nation�s capital. The petition is part of the group�s community engagement to help city authorities introduce effective sanitation practices to achieve what it terms as �Zero Waste to Landfill by 2020�. Wearing T-shirts with the inscription �Clean Ghana Now�, members of the group carried placards, some of which read �A clean Ghana Is a must�; �Trash is cash�; �Beat the filth, Beat the Disease�; �Love Ghana, Don�t Litter�; �Take Your Litter Home� �Clean is smart�, �Borla in gutter=flooding�; �Burning Plastics can Cause Cancer�; and �Let�s recycle, Keep the city clean�. Along the route, they picked up refuse and sorted them out neatly in coloured rubbish bags with the aim of educating the public on the need to segregate refuse. Petition The petition, which was received on behalf of the Chief Executive of AMA, Dr Alfred Okoh Vanderpuije, by the assembly member for the Dansoman Opetekwei, Nii Amponsah Dodoo, on the AMA premises, tasked the assembly to ensure that all the debts owed the Accra Compost Recycling Plant (ACRP) were paid to them to manage the waste effectively. Touching on plastics, it stated that �our beachfront shows the impact of plastics and rubbers. We think that a ban should be placed, especially on the universal use of plastics and rubbers for shopping�. In the petition, the group also charged the AMA to enforce its own bye-laws on sanitation and related matters. �We will follow up consistently on what we aim to achieve to make sure that the city is in order, in terms of cleanliness,� Mr Nyanten said.