The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Mr Joseph Kofi Adda, has challenged all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to submit their roadmaps for eradicating open defecation by the end of January 2018.
The roadmaps, the Minister explained, should include strategies which will help fight the menace within the next three years in order to achieve the national target of eradicating open defecation completely.
Addressing some students and dignitaries during a quiz competition between some selected Senior High Schools (SHS) to mark this year’s World Toilet Day in Accra, Mr Adda said the roadmaps will further help the Ministry to monitor the plans of the MMDAs.
“The Sustainable Development Goals target for sanitation is more ambitious because this time round the global target is 100% by 2030.
“We want people and institutions to understand that the moment somebody practices open defaecation, everybody’s life is endangered,” he said.
He continued that, “There is the need for everybody to reflect on the need to build, own and use improved toilet facilities at home.”
He stressed on the need for the country to urgently deal with the sanitation problems, saying, “Environmental sanitation challenges facing Ghana are fast becoming endemic and there is the urgent need to decisively deal with them.”
Speaking to the Daily Heritage, Mr Kweku Quansah, Deputy Director, Environmental and Sanitation Directorate, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, said they are on course of making the country a clean one.
He added that the Ministry is closely working with the MMDAs to develop strategies to keep the cities clean at all time.
He disclosed that the Ministry has put in place measures to ensure that the cities get a final disposal site for refuse generated by the locals.
“We’re looking at how we can locate transfer stations, material recovery facilities and have integrated treatment facilities so that we don’t gather waste and throw them away.
“We want to gather the waste and recycle them and take materials out of the waste and use it as raw materials for factories and other plants,” he told the paper.
In order to fight open defaecation, Mr Quansah explained that they have charged the MMDAs to embark on programs to sensitize the people.
The quiz
Four second cycle schools: Odorgonno SHS, Presbyterian Boys SHS, Legon, Presec, Tema, and Ashiaman SHS were engaged in a quiz to test the contestants’ knowledge on sanitation.
After the three rounds contest, Presbyterian Boys SHS, Legon was adjudged the winner after accumulating the most points.
Odorgonno SHS, Presec, Tema, and Ashaiman SHS, where second, third, and fourth respectively.
Source: Ghana/Starrfmonline.com/103.5FM
