The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah has once again emphatically stated that Ghanaians should observe everyday as Sanitation Day to clean their environment and surroundings.
She refuted the allegation that since the new government came into power, the government cancelled the monthly Sanitation Day which was observed on the first Saturday of every month. She said the new policy direction of the government through her Ministry in collaboration with others stakeholders was to reorient and rebrand the whole concept of sanitation.
The Minister stated this when she granted audience to Adom TV at her office in Accra on Wednesday, January 23, 2019. Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah commended the media for its immense role in bringing to the fore issues relating to sanitation that has gone a long way to enrich national discourse and shape policy direction. She stated that the media is an important stakeholder in the government’s programme of cleaning Ghana and making Accra the cleanest city in Africa as envisioned by the President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo in April 2017.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah noted that she has been following various media reportage on sanitation issues and said the media has been very supportive. She mentioned in particular the establishment of the Media Coalition against Open Defecation (M-CODE) which she described as very positive in the fight against open defecation.
The Sector Minister stated that it was for good reasons that the President established the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and urged all to support the Ministry to achieve its mandate. She said the call by the President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo on all Ghanaians to be citizens and not spectators is being demonstrated by the media. She appealed to the media not to relent on their performance but to continuously engage the Ministry to discuss issues on sanitation. The Sector Minister hinted that some new measures will be announced soon in dealing with the sanitation challenge in Accra, and the country at large.