Traditional and religious leaders in the Kumbungu and Sagnarigu Assemblies have welcomed the President’s decision to make sanitation a key performance indicator for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs).
They described the decision as a timely intervention that could improve the sanitation situation in communities.
They said poor sanitation remained a major challenge in many communities in the assemblies with choked gutters, indiscriminate dumping of refuse and inadequate waste management facilities exposing residents to sanitation-related diseases.
They appealed to MMDCEs to work closely with chiefs, opinion leaders, religious authorities and community groups to strengthen sanitation campaigns while encouraging residents to complement government efforts through regular clean-up exercises.
They also emphasised the need for sustained public education, provision of sanitation logistics such as rakes, shovels and dustbins to achieve lasting results.
They were speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency on the implications of the President’s decision on sanitation situation in their communities.
Following the President’s decision, the Media Coalition against Open Defecation in partnership with World Vision Ghana has rolled out the Media Accountability Platform to provide independent, public and evidence-based monitoring of MMDCE performance on sanitation with specific focus on ending open defecation.
Naa Ibrahim Abdul Rahman, the Chief of Gumo in the Kumbungu District described the sanitation situation in the district as “very bad” saying the assembly appeared to focus most of its sanitation interventions on the district capital while neglecting other communities.
He said many of the communities in the district were struggling with choked gutters and poor waste disposal systems without support from the assembly.
He appealed to the district assembly to provide basic sanitation equipment including rakes and other tools to support community-led sanitation activities noting that although people were willing to volunteer, inadequate logistics remained a major constraint.
He urged opinion leaders, chiefs, assembly members, unit committee members, imams and other influential persons to continue mobilising residents to keep their communities clean while waiting for government’s support.
He welcomed the President’s decision and said it would motivate district assemblies and communities to improve environmental cleanliness.
Mr Adam Shahanun, Assistant Leader, Masjid Hassan Mosque in the Bogkurugu community, Sagnarigu Municipality, said Islamic scholars had an important responsibility to promote environmental sanitation through their religious teachings.
He said cleanliness was an important principle in Islam and pledged to use his platform to educate worshippers on the need to maintain clean surroundings to prevent sanitation-related diseases.
He encouraged other Islamic scholars to devote part of their sermons to promoting good sanitation practices to complement the efforts of the assembly.
Mr Fuseini Issahaku, a Sub-Chief of the Sorugu community in the Sagnarigu Municipality, described sanitation in the municipality as unsatisfactory and called on residents to take greater responsibility for keeping their communities clean.
He said maintaining a clean environment should not be left solely to the government because poor sanitation resulted in diseases.
Mr Issahaku said communities could organise periodic clean-up exercises to complement the government’s monthly sanitation campaign, adding that traditional leaders in the area had previously spearheaded similar exercises.
He pledged to engage traditional leaders and elders to revive and expand community sanitation campaigns in the municipality while involving youth leaders to champion the initiative.
GNA
