By: Robert Ayanful.
The Agona West Municipal Assembly is to introduce door to door refuse collection, to help deal with the problem of haphazard dumping of refuse by residents.
The move, when implemented, will also generate some form of fund for the Assembly, as every household will be made to pay some small amount of money for the collection of the refuse.
This was disclosed by the Municipal Chief Executive for the area, Hon. Gyamfi Odoom during the 2-day nationwide clean-up exercise over the weekend.
Addressing the participants, the MCE noted that refuse remains one of the major problem confronting the country in recent times, saying that apart from its contribution to flooding, it also poses serious health risk including cholera and malaria, as mosquitoes turn to breed in choked gutters as a results of refuse dumped in them.
He however pointed out that the situation can be controlled if the people have a change of character and mindset. On his part, the Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Mr. Mark Dzodzodzi advised the residents not to wait till such an exercise before cleaning their environment.
He stressed that cleanliness should be part and parcel of every individual, and must therefore not to be seen as the responsibility of the government. According to him, refuse could be a valuable resource that can generate income, if handled correctly.
He later warned that his office has sent special enforcement team around to mark, arrest and prosecute all store and shop owners who refused to participate in the exercise.
Also a Pharmacist and former Chairman of the NDC in the Constituency, Mr. Emmanuel Kwesi Lincoln who participated in the exercise commended the Security Services in the Municipal, particularly the Police, Fire and Immigration for their participation in the exercise and urged the public to emulate the voluntary spirit of the security services.