News

Friday, March 11, 2016

Government to battle poor sanitation in the country
Masahudu Ankiilu Kunateh, Ghanadot

Accra, March 11, Ghanadot - Vice President of Ghana , H.E. John Dramani Mahama has indicated that a ban on the use of non-degradable plastics could be in the cards as part of the measures aimed to stem Ghana ’s increasing waste management difficulties.

Speaking at the first ever National Environmental Sanitation Forum held in Accra , John Mahama said the nation is drowning in plastics and it is high time a decision is taken on what to do with the menace.

The forum under the theme, ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’ is part of the Government of Ghana’s Hundred Days’ Sanitation and Ghana Going Green Agenda, and will rise this afternoon with a communiqué and a blueprint on dealing with the sanitation challenges across the country.

The Vice President told the forum that banning plastics in the country may not be the best option and expressed the hope that the situation would not come to that, but he stressed that if the country failed to come out with an effective programme to deal with the danger, then the safety of the populace would take precedence and a ban on the use of plastic bags would be imposed.

Describing the forum as one long overdue, given that the nation has been grappling with the scourge of environmental sanitation over the years, he said a blueprint from the meeting would be a long way to practically deal with the situation and depart from the yearly ritual of long talks and no action.

The Vice President said there exist technologies for managing waste and stressed the need and willingness of the state to support investors into such areas to make their ventures worthwhile.

John Mahama said advanced countries are processing waste into useful ends; while in Ghana , the people continue to suffer sicknesses as malaria, typhoid, cholera and a host of others, while businesses also suffer patronage for the same reasons.

The government has called on the Architectural and Engineering Services Limited, the Department of Urban Roads and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to consider designing roads with covered gutters and as much as possible take measures to cover all open gutters along the streets in the major cities of the country.  The Minister of Environment, Science and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayitey made this known at the forum yesterday.

She said this would help reduce the indiscriminate dumping of refuse into gutters; reduce mosquito breeding, flooding and loss of life and property during the rain seasons.

Ms Ayitey also disclosed that the government would introduce an improved method of waste management into the country. This would involve innovative and advanced technologies which would avoid the current practice of dumping of waste at designated filth sites.

The Minister called for effective urban governance strategic approaches to tackling the innumerable sanitation problems in the country.

Ms Ayitey also appealed to the traditional rulers, civil society and the private sector to support and promote environmentally sound technological programmes to help arrest the unsanitary situation in the country.

The Minister of Trade and Industry, Ms Hannah Tetteh in a speech read for him revealed that worldwide figures for municipal solid waste in general constitute about 20% of all waste generated globally with other types of waste including construction and demolition waste (30%), manufacturing (20%), mining and quarrying (23%) and others making 7%.

Considering the increasing quantities of waste generated in Ghana and the growing concerns over its overall impact on the socio-economic development of the country, the Ministry over the years have implemented a number of interventions and projects aimed at improving sanitation and waste management in the country.

These interventions were implemented having in mind that trade and industry activities generated volumes of waste which needed to be addressed for trading and industrial activities to be conducted in effective and efficient manner.

Ghanadot



 

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Accra, March 11, Ghanadot - Vice President of Ghana , H.E. John Dramani Mahama has indicated that a ban on the use of non-degradable plastics could be in the cards as part of the measures aimed to stem Ghana ’s increasing waste management difficulties. ....More