The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), Dr Henry Kokofu, has said the EPA Act is undergoing a review to transform the outfit into an Authority.
Dr Kokofu says the renewed mandate will empower EPA to arrest, prosecute and among other things deal with sanitation and environmental offenders.
The former Bantama Member of Parliament disclosed this at the 5th edition of the Ekosii Sen National Dialogue Series at the Prempeh Hall in Kumasi.
Themed Achieving the SDG Goals on Environment and Sanitation in Ghana; The Way forward, it was a forum to discuss sanitation issues.
“The EPA ACT 490 lacks a lot of things and it limits our power so following a petition to the president, there is a revision and a bill for EPA to become an authority. We will not just have the power to supervise but to enforce and drag sanitation offenders and even the assemblies to court,” he stated.
Dr Kokofu further made a clarion call on the citizenry to take sanitation issues seriously and also called on the government to put in place measures to ensure proper waste management.
“We must learn to manage our waste just as we make them and check our attitude. The relevant stakeholders must be able to do their work devoid of fear and favour.bThere should be no interference from chiefs, opinion leaders, clergy or anyone in higher authority when it comes to dealing with sanitation offences,” he admonished.
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