Mr Kwabena Okyere Darko-Mensah, the Western Regional Minister, has
called on Pastors and opinion leaders to assist curb the sanitation
menace by instilling in their members proper sanitation and hygiene
ethics.
He said this would help the districts and the regions channel their
limited resources to other sectors that needed support in order to
enhance development.
Mr Darko-Mensah said about 50 per cent of the District Assembly’s fund
in the region was used annually to tackle the sanitation problem, a
situation he bemoaned, was crippling the districts and for that matter,
the region.
Addressing the congregation of the Church of Pentecost to climax the
church’s Easter convention in Takoradi, Mr Darko-Mensah said, “We cannot
eat and throw the rubbish into the gutters or sweep our houses and
dispose off the waste into drainage systems for the government to then
allocate monies, which could have been used for other developmental
projects, to clear it”.
He said more often than not, Ghanaians preferred touring other
countries because they see those countries as nice and beautiful, adding
that it was time the region made conscious efforts to solve its
sanitation challenges in order to boost its tourism sites.
“It is said that the best comes from the west. We should then strive
towards making our towns and cities clean, in order to make our region a
model for proper sanitation and clean environment, so as to attract
foreigners to boost development,” he said.
He urged Christians and citizens to let the resurrection of Christ
bring forth positive change in attitudes, especially towards sanitation
issues in the region, to make it a better place to live.
“This is why it is important for opinion and church leaders to step in and help solve this situation.
“I plead with you to constantly remind members about the importance of
good sanitation and proper hygiene even if it’s not part of the
programme outline,” he added.
He however applauded the church for its numerous sanitation programmes
to complement Government’s efforts in eradicating the canker and called
on other churches and religious bodies to take up this mantle.