Julius Debrah (first right), the Vice President (second right) and Dr Kwaku Agyemang-Mensah (second left) monitoring the clean-up exercise
The recent killer cholera outbreak within the Accra metropolis which was attributed to poor sanitation has awaken government and city authorities from their shell to embark on a massive clean-up exercise within the metropolis.
The Vice President, Paa Kwesi Amissah-Arthur, leading an inter-ministerial team composed of the new Minister of Health, Dr Kwaku Agyemang- Mensah, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Julius Debrah, and the City Mayor of Accra, Alfred Oko Vandepuye, on Monday night cleared garbage off major parts of the city including Agbobloshie, Kokomlemle and the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) dump sites.
Speaking to the media on the sidelines of the exercise, Mr Amissah- Arthur stated that government has been concerned about the recent cholera outbreak within the city.
According to him, ‘Government has decided on a crisis programme to immediately clear garbage off the city and to allow the authority manage this on a daily basis.’
Asked whether the country is in full control in meeting the Millennium Development Goal 5 by 2015 which impress upon all countries to ensure the well-being of its citizens by improving upon its sanitation, the Vice President could not state clearly whether or not the country would meet the challenge but was rather quick to say that ‘the question is unfair to government.’
By Melvin Tarlue
Attitudinal Change
He stated that to bring an end the sanitation crisis in the country, it would require a change of attitude on the part of Ghanaian regarding how they treat their environment.
Mr Amissah-Arthur added that ‘as a people, we have to manage ourselves and our sanitation. Attitudinal change is required. We have to make it a sustainable process on the part of the individuals themselves.’
Meanwhile, Mr Debrah stated that government is determined to prevent the cholera epidemic from further spreading.
According to him, 200 residents of Accra were reported to have contracted cholera, out of which 15 people have died.
He disclosed that his outfit is going to launch a communication campaign aimed at encouraging attitudinal change among the citizenry.
New Dump Sites
The Minister of Local Government and Rural Development also disclosed that two new dump sites at Nsawam and Ga East have been created to complement the effort of the Kpong site.
However, residents at Agbobloshie could not fathom why government had to wait for major parts of the city including Kaneshie, Accra Central among others, to be physically overtaken by garbage before making a move.
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