Justina Siebi Gomez,
Resident, Takoradi
Ghanaians have developed some bad attitudes when it comes to the generation of waste and its disposal. Throughout our daily chores and socio-economic activities, waste is generated but unfortunately many people do not want to become responsible for the proper disposal of the garbage so created.
In February this year, the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly organised a clean-up exercise and I was surprised to see many young men and women actively involved in cleaning the environment. Everybody I saw was happily cleaning up. This came as a surprise and I wondered why we allow the environment to get dirty in the first place.
The exercise was patronised so well. I hope this affection for cleanliness would continue. It was therefore no surprise that the President commented on the exercise in Sekondi/Takoradi in his sessional address to parliament and commended the people for responding to a worthy cause.
I pray that the exercise does not become a nine-day wonder. It is important that corporate bodies and institutions are roped in to lend their support. A lot of education will also have to take place to educate the people on the negative impact that a dirty environment has on their health.
Most of the cases that are reported to hospitals could be avoided if we kept our surroundings clean.
One place that seriously needs to be tidied up is our markets. It is rather unsightly to see market women selling foodstuffs and other wares besides stinking and choked gutters.
The activities of hawkers who sell on our streets also pose another aspect of unhygienic conditions that prevail in the various communities as waste from their activities end up in gutters.
One cardinal message of the Ghana Health Service is that wealth can be created through good health. Flowing from this is the idea that productivity can increase if only people will practice good health. The country needs healthy people to contribute positively to socio-economic development and ensuring clean surrounding is one sure way to achieve that aim.
It is in this direction that I think that the President’s determination for a clean Ghana within his first 100 days in office is very laudable and must be supported.
The Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) must do all they can to sustain a clean environment by enforcing its bye-laws against indiscriminate littering.
Monica Minner,
Resident, Takoradi
The declaration of war on filth by the President of the Republic of Ghana within its first 100 days in office was a very welcome and laudable move. This means that the President is not happy with our attitude towards waste disposal.
Though the assembly’s bye-laws on littering is known to all and sundry, not much attention is paid to it because it is poorly enforced. What is worse is that though waste bins have been provided at vantage points, people still refuse to do the right thing and go ahead to litter the environment.
The president has declared war on filth, it is up to the district, metropolitan and municipal assemblies to enforce their laws and ensure that people are made responsible for their actions.
The twin-city of Sekondi/Takoradi as I understand is among the cleanest metropolis in the country, there is nonetheless more work to be done.
The solution to getting rid of waste would depend to a large extent on the change of attitude of the Ghanaian insofar as waste generation and proper disposal are concerned.
For the most part residents in our cities and towns prefer the use of communal waste containers provided for traders in the market places as their point of dislodging refuse as against the use of door-to-door collection which to me is a more effctive way of dealing with waste matter.
In the recent past, the Sekondi/Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) had expressed displeasure about people not making use of the door- to-door collection and has agitated for the practice to stop.
Unfortunately the waste bins provided at the market places are always full and overflowing and so the addition of refuse from residents compounds the problem.
In my estimation if proper procedures are followed, and the right things are done, dirty and stinking environments should be a thing of the past.
Isaac Baiden,
Accounts Officer, Takoradi
Much as we talk about the need to keep our environment clean, it is also important to let the people know the positive effects to which waste can be put.
The Vice-President, John Dramani Mahama, made a brilliant submission at the launch of a plastic biodegradable project in Accra that gave me some hope that at least there is some form of attention being given to the issue of filth in our country.
This is because, while the chief executive officer of the land has declared war on filth, his vice was also telling Ghanaians that waste could be processed for other uses.
The president must instruct the yet to be appointed metropolitan, district and municipal chief executives to be stern when it comes to ensuring cleanliness of their communities.
They should strictly enforce bye-laws on littering and also encourage them to seek assistance to recycle some of the waste generated into products such as fertilizers and electricity that would go to benefit the society.
If we are able to generate electricity from waste and the people are aware that part of their electricity or gas was domestically produced from the waste generated, they would be encouraged towards better management of the their waste.
In many instances it is children who are sent to dispose of refuse and the children just dump them anyhow. It is important therefore for adults in households to set good example for the children to follow.
Children must be taught to make proper use of waste bins while attention is paid to paying a little amount to garbage collectors who dispose off refuse. When this is done children would learn from this and will always remember to put up the right attitudes.
It is my view also that waste management education would be taught right from the kindergaten so that children would grow up with good habits of disposing off refuse properly.
Rosina Mefful,
Businesswoman,
Takoradi
The inability of the STMA to enforce its bye-laws on littering inspite of the many litter bins that have been provided is one factor that has contributed to improper waste management.
The people, particularly passengers on commercial vehicles, must be educated not to throw litter from moving vehicles but rather keep them till they get to the lorry stations and then dispose of them properly. I believe that people have the mentality that the street belongs to the government and as such it is the assembly’s duty to keep the environment clean. Therefore they care very little for the environment as they see the work of ensuring cleanliness as someone else’s job.
In the more developed countries cleanliness of the environment is strictly enforced and wrongdoers are brought to book. When one is caught littering the one is given a ticket that instructs him to pay a fine for doing the wrong thing. Failure to pay the fine may result in a jail term.
It is important that inspite of the President’s call for environmental cleanlines within his first 100 days in offce, the people would also make conscious efforts to sustain the momentum and ensure cleanliness all year round.
Though I do not ask for people to be jailed for creating filth, all the same stricter fines must be imposed to serve as disincentive as well as a source of revenue for the assembly, which spends huge sums of money trying to get our surrounding clean.
It is paramount that the nation declares war against filth from our midst.
Georgina Owusu,
Resident, TakoradI
The president’s declaration for a clean Ghana should inspire us to stop our old ways of disposing of waste and take up the challenge.
Waste management is expensive and it is important that we ensure better practices so as to save money.
Assembly bye-laws on littering should be strictly enforced. The spectre of indiscriminate dumping of refuse has brought about the menace of black polythene strewn all over the place.
People have returned from abroad to speak of how beautiful the place look. I believe if the proper structures are put in place Ghana can also look as beautiful if not more.
However, many people have put on a lukewarm attitude when it comes to the issue of waste generation and disposal.
The law should not be twisted to suit certain people. Whoever is found guilty must be made to face the full rigours of the law ispite of his or her standing in society.
The municipal assemblies all over the country must be up and doing and ensure that the various communities are made clean such as to attract visitors and investment to propel the nation’s development.
Esther Hagan,
CEO, House II,
Takoradi
I am a service provider who gets people visiting my premises everyday. As a result a lot of waste is generated and so I make sure there is a proper disposal system by providing litter bins in order to protect the health of my customers and workers.
Whenever I drive through the streets and see all the rubbish that has been generated, including black polythene bags and ‘pure’ water bags, my heart aches. What is even more disturbing is to see people eating by the wayside next to gutters overflowing with garbage.
The wrong impression has been created that it is the duty of the government to collect rubbish and clean the environment. But that is not so.
It is everybody’s duty, whether adult or young, to ensure that waste is correctly disposed off at properly designated places. It then becomes the responsibility of the government to empty the refuse containers at landfill sites that have been earmarked for the purpose. It is when the government fails in this duty that it can be taken to task. Until then, we have to do our part by ensuring that our environment is always clean.
Elsewhere, disposing off chewing gum or spitting indiscriminately is not allowed and would attract a fine when caught. Fortunately, many people from this part of the world visit these places, conform to the rules and come back to tell nice tales but once back home the story is different.
Under the circumstances, it will be prudent that we put our act together and make sure that we cultivate the habit of cleanliness. We must take the charge as given by the President to keep our environment clean, not only for a period but all througout our lifetime.
With the oil boom, the metropolis is likely to receive more visitors. The assembly should therefore, make sure that the its bye-laws are enforced to create the needed atmosphere for business to flourish to transform the twin-city of Sekondi -Takoradi into a modern metropolis.
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