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The Tamale Metropolitan Assembly (TaMA) faces daunting task in the management of waste generated in the metropolis due to financial difficulties. Speaking at a town hall meeting last Thursday, the TaMA Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Abdul Rahman Hanan Gundado, said the inability of the assembly to collect all the waste generated in the metropolis was due the assembly�s inability to raise about GH�2,000,000 for that purpose. Sanitation budget He explained that the assembly needed at least GH�4,000,000 annually to deal effectively with the sanitation issue in the metropolis but could not even raise half of that amount. Mr Gundado said the assembly could only collect 82 per cent of the waste generated in the metropolis, explaining that averagely, 300 tons of refuse was generated in the metropolis daily. He indicated that the National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise held in the metropolis, however helped to improve the collection of waste in the metropolis significantly. He expressed worry over the apathetic attidude of the residents, towards sanitation towards. �We have to change our attitude if we have to protect our dignity as a people and inculcate in our children the sense of decency and environmental cleanliness�, Mr Gundado stressed. He called on opinion leaders, youth groups, heads of educational institutions and traditional rulers to complement the efforts of the assembly by periodically organising clean-up exercises in their areas, to help improve sanitation in the metropolis. �We cannot claim to lead in the transformation of northern Ghana when our metropolis is drenched in filth�, he said. Town hall meeting Touching on the essence of the meeting, Mr Gundado explained that �it is an opportunity for us as duty bearers to account to you for our stewardship over the period and to crystallise and strengthen the democratic and participatory governance this country has nurtured at the national and local levels over the years�. He said the metropolis had benefitted from a number of developmental projects since 2013, in the areas of education, health, roads, and agriculture, among others. Mr Gundado also said the metropolis was now more peaceful, compared to the previous years, as a result of the work of the Metropolitan Security Council (MSC). He added that the impunity perpetuated through gangsterism, which was a major security threat in the metropolis had been contained by the MSC. Mr Gundado expressed concern about the indiscriminate parking of vehicles and the presence of stray animals in the central business district and said the assembly would deal with those issues by enforcing its bye-laws.