Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Dr. Freda Prempeh (in reflective jacket)
Report by Ben LARYEA
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Dr. Freda Prempeh has urged the Metropolitan Assemblies to put in place measures for the segregation of waste for effective disposal of refuse to the respective dumping sites.
She however tasked the Assemblies to label the bins for easy identification to enable the public to dispose of waste into the appropriate bins for easy collection, adding that when wastes are properly segregated they can be used for other commercial purposes.
The Minister made these known during a tour to inspect the sanitation situation at the Tema Station, Glefe a suburb of Dansoman and some parts of the Motorway stretch in Accra as the tour forms part of the activities to mark the World Sanitation Day commemorated around the globe.
Ensuring the gutters are dirt free
The Minister advised traders selling in and around the Tema station to keep their surroundings clean and further explained that such daily clean-up leads to healthy environment devoid of diseases and charged them to exhibit sound hygiene practices saying it will help prevent diseases in immediate environments.
The tour took the minister and her delegation to Glefe around Dansoman and expressed worry about the lack of safety materials like gloves, boots, and nose masks among others at a segregation site by the youth and advised managers of the site to provide the said materials to avoid health hazards.
Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Dr. Freda Prempeh
Mrs. Freda Prempeh also expressed worry about choked drains and challenged officials from the Assemblies to engage in periodic desilting and was quick to advise residents to stop the attitude of throwing refuse in gutters.
According to her, the government is working fervently to bring back the sanitation taskforce (SamaSaman) to embark on daily inspection of homes and surroundings, and said failure for people to comply with the byelaws will be sanctioned.
Segregate waste for effective disposal – Sanitation Minister
For his part, the Head of Corporate Affairs of Zoomlion, Mr. Ernest Acquah said waste disposal is a collective responsibility and urged the citizenry to participate in waste collection exercises saying Zoomlion over the years has cooperated with communities across the country in their mandate to keep the cities clean.
He therefore urged the residents to segregate waste as part of the effort to have access to waste materials for the production and manufacturing of items for household and commercial purposes.
“Zoomlion will continue to deliver on its core mandate on waste collection which will help address the sanitation challenges across the country”, he said.
Source: www.thenewindependentonline.com
