The Deputy Minister of Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Mr. Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, says this year, Accra has not experienced an outbreak of cholera, because of the awareness created by the National Sanitation Day.
According to him the National Sanitation Day, which is on a monthly basis, constantly reminds people on how and why they should keep their surroundings clean. He said, in previous years Accra was regularly hit by cholera, especially during the rainy season, but not a single case had been reported so far.
The Deputy Minister was speaking June National Sanitation Day exercise held at Awutu Senya in the Central region. The exercise, that lasted almost three hours, brought together youth groups, traders and residents to clean the environment.
The Deputy Minister assisted the youth, the especially Osae Krodua Youth Association, to de-silt the choke gutters, and sweep the market and its surroundings. Though patronage was poor, because only handful people fully participated in the exercise, Mr. Agyekum still believes that the National Sanitation Day exercise has not lost its relevance.
“It is not up to what we expected, but we appreciate those who participated. “What we have achieved so far, comparatively to previous years, there is no cholera. If we continue with this exercise, there wouldn’t be cholera. So the National Sanitation is working.”
The District Chief Executive of the area, Samuel Abbey Armah, also advised the citizens not to wait to be called by the authorities before they clean their surroundings. He argued that clean surroundings are the responsibility of individuals and not the state.
The Adontehene of Awutu Senya, Nai Ncharka Okine VI, urged the public to detach things of national interest from politics. “If a law is made, it is not for only small section of the public or particular political party members to obey, but it is for the whole country. As a good citizen, you should not wait to be called to clean your environment before you do so,” he said.
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