The Graphic Communication’s Group Limited (GCGL) launched a National Sanitation Campaign at the auditorium of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) on the theme “Keep Ghana Clean.” This comes on the backdrop of GCGL’s declaration of 2021 as the “Year of Sanitation” which seeks to beef up efforts in promoting good sanitation practices among the citizenry.
The group is partnering with Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Environmental Services Providers Association (ESPA) and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in a quest to achieve the desired goal of a clean Ghana through this initiative.
The Managing Director for GCGL, Mr. Ato Afful in his welcome address recognized the commitment and support of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to the exercise they were about embarking on, and used the opportunity to thank Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah for her sterling leadership in the Sanitation sector over the years.
He made known that, GCGL had been a leading media group for over 70years and had been committed to providing accurate communication of policies of successive governments and that, providing adequate information (as a way of responsibility to Ghanaians) necessitates a National Sanitation Campaign.
Some activities of the campaign will include, a year long campaign to engage Chiefs, opinion leaders, schools etc on best sanitation practices, and a scheme to reward the cleanest regions. These, he explained, will be published on their platforms to serve as motivation for others.
He added that “Poor sanitation is a menace, especially, to developing economies like ours and it beholds on all of us to commit to Sanitation practices that promote cleanliness.”
This launch, was a tag on the earlier national sanitation campaign launch by the President of the republic, H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo and other campaigns in respect of Sanitation Management. He, therefore, urged that we make Sanitation, as the President has said, an everyday activity.
Hon. Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Mayor for AMA, alluded to the address of the managing director of GCGL but noted that, Sanitation is not just about Solid waste only and that other aspects of Sanitation such as Greening of cities and towns, Cemetery management etc must receive equal focus us solid waste management does.
He observed that significant progress had been made in the Sanitation sector and the results had seen, for instance, zero Cholera cases in Accra.
He however said “Ghanaians do not have the attitude of paying for waste and so it beholds on city managers to implement measure that will curb the indiscriminate sanitation practices in our respective towns.”
Dr. Nii Ayi-Bonte, Gbese Mantse in turn advised that stringent sanctions must be imposed on individuals who indiscriminately litter our environment and said that “there cannot be clean societies without strict laws on sanitation.”
Article 41 (k) of the 1992 constitution of Ghana states “it shall be the duty of every citizen to protect and safeguard the environment.” The Chairman of the Zoomlion Group, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong relying on the provision of the constitution explained that Sanitation is the pivot to economic development because waste is huge resource and presented opportunities that must be harnessed.
He further explained in his presentation that Government’s commitment to waste management infrastructural set up had seen significant reduction in the infrastructural gap and that, the private sector had what it takes to tackle sanitation problems in Ghana and help bring about the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.
Bemoaning the environmental sanitation challenges facing our dear Country Ghana (Core among them being the poor attitude of the citizenry), the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resource, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah called for collective efforts in the campaign for behavioral change.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah in her key note address acknowledged and commended the GCGL for their efforts in supporting the Ministry’s drive in ensuring clean, safe, and healthy working environment for the citizenry. She said, “Good Sanitation has become a powerful driver of the development of national economies and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources is therefore lucky to have such a partner (in GCGL) to push the agenda of behavioral change, with the aim of accruing the socio-economic benefits for the people working and living in Ghana.
She thus noted that the campaign was timeous and would surely compliment the Ministry’s National Sanitation Campaign under the tag ‘’Sesa Wo Suban’’ to wit “Change your bad Habit and Play your part in cleaning the Environment.”