Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, has said Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies who failed to deploy the waste bins provided by Government at some expected vantage points will be sanctioned.
He said the bins were provided to be placed at market, open places and lorry stations to control littering and maintain good sanitary practices in the country.
Alhaji Dauda gave the caution after he toured the central district of Accra on Wednesday to inspect the collection of garbage by waste management contractors.
The areas toured included the Kwame Nkrumah Circle area, the Agbogboloshie and Makola Markets.
The tour was also to ascertain first-hand information on the collection of garbage and the performance of the contractors and check work on our preparedness for the seasonal rains.
“We checked on the de-silting of the Odaw drain to ensure the free flow of water during the rains and to avoid the disaster that happened last year,” the Minister said.
The Minister, however, expressed satisfaction with the work done at the Odaw drains and said more equipment would to be deployed at the site to facilitate work.
He also pledged the Ministry's commitment to ensure that permanent contractors are deployed to work at all times at the site to de-silt the drains.
Alhaji Dauda, who is also the Member of Parliament for Asutifi South, said the country in 2014 recorded 28,975 cholera cases with 243 deaths out of which majority cases were recorded in the Greater Accra Region.
He said this led to a directive by President John Dramani Mahama to institute the National Sanitation Day Campaign every first Saturday of the month to change peoples' attitudes towards keeping their surroundings clean.
Alhaji Dauda said the institution of the Day has enhanced the awareness creation efforts towards the indiscriminate dumping of refuse and littering as well as helped to revive the spirit of communal labour among citizens.
“Every citizen has the responsibility of keeping the environment and the country clean.”
Mr Gershon Sogbey, General Manager for Zoomlion, said the collection of garbage at the Central District of Accra is done three times daily and that six trucks and a number of tricycles are deployed daily to the area for the collection.
He said the central district area collection is an additional responsibility for Zoomlion and that the Agbogboloshie market where waste is being seen all over is not under the jurisdiction of Zoomlion.
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