Cape Coast Beaches Littered With Residue Of Sea Weeds

Some beaches along the Cape Coast shorelines are still littered with residue of the sea weeds that sprouted on some beaches in the country about three months ago. This is in spite of a directive by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that they should be cleared regularly. The seashore near the Cape Coast Castle, which is the most affected, has become unattractive. Revellers have also littered the place with rubbish, further compounding the programme. A fisherman, Nana Ansah, alias Dada Gee, who the Ghana News Agency interviewed, said although the presence of the weeds was not affecting fishing as it did some months back, the stench and sight of the decomposing weeds and rubbish, create discomfort, since the beach is the only place where they mend their nets and repair their canoes. Nana Ansah said since employees of Zoil Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of ZOOMLION Ghana Limited, in charge of the sanitation of the beach stopped work about seven months ago, some of them including others paid by the owner of a restaurant at the beach, occasionally clean the beach. He could not recall seeing any group embarking on a clean-up exercise at the beach, and appealed to the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly to ensure that the beaches are cleaned to ensure their comfort, as well as that of tourists. It will be recalled that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued a statement in April this year asking that beaches along the coast be regularly cleaned,following a massive collection of sea weeds along some beaches in Half �Assini, Cape Coast, Aflao and beyond, affecting the livelihood of fishermen and also impacting negatively on communities along some of the beaches. The regular cleaning of the beaches was to prevent the decomposition of the weeds on the beaches, in order not to increase discomfort on affected communities but the situation at some Cape Coast beaches was different. According to the EPA statement, the brown algae known as Sargassum sp., was reported to be collected on beaches in the Caribbean in small quantities every year between May and September when regional waves and winds transport the floating algae to the island and perhaps to the western coast of Africa and other parts of the world. The statement further quoted Mr. Carl Fiati a marine expert of EPA as saying that �the set of natural and man-made factors , such as indiscriminate and improper domestic waste disposal in the water bodies probably came together to trigger this� . When the GNA contacted Mr. Nicholas Addo, Public Relations Officer of the CCMA, he explained that Zoil, the cleaning company which was initially tasked to clean the beach, had stopped worked, and that the assembly had gone into agreement with a number of organisations to help clean the beach. He said organisations such as Eco Scout Organisation, a Non-Governmental Organisation(NGO), Cape coast Youth Development Association(CCYDA) and other community based organisations are being used, adding that the Assembly is trying to liaise with more community-based organisations to help improve sanitation at the sea shore. Mr. Addo indicated that the Waste Management Department (WMD) of the Assembly which was directly in charge of sanitation of the metropolis on Saturday, March 1, embarked on a clean-up exercise at the Central Business Centre of the metropolis as well as the beaches. He said, the Cape Coast Mayor, Ms. Priscilla Arhin, as parts of steps to ensure that the metropolis was clean, has launched a campaign dubbed �Cape Coast Goes Clean and Green, � which is being spearhead by Eco Scout in collaboration with the CCYDA. Mr Addo said the organizations have been tasked to ensure that the beaches are cleaned fortnightly, stressing that the volume of sea weeds and rubbish that had been washed ashore would have been terrible if not for such efforts. Mr. Addo however gave the assurance that the Assembly would ensure that the sanitation of the beaches are improved. The Deputy Head of the WMD of CCMA , Mr. Charles Asabre, said the �Cape Coast Goes Green and Clean� campaign was initiated about four months ago and that the department supports the organizations by spearheading the campaign with tools. Mr. Asabre, however, blamed the continuous littering of the beach on the lack of waste bins along the beaches, adding that ideally waste bins should have been placed at vantage points at the beach, but the fear was that people would steal them. He said the assembly in ensuring proper waste management , had distributed 240 waste bins to some selected basic , senior high schools and Colleges of Education, as well as some health facilities, and that the department would soon embark on institutional door to door waste collection for a small fee.