The Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Environment, Science and Technology believes Ghana does not need to send a delegation anywhere for studies before the sanitation challenges in the country can be solved.
Dr. Emmanuel Marfo said Ghana has the expertise and the men to ensure the nation is free of filth but the expertise is not put into use.
A delegation from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and Africa Environmental Sanitation Consult (AFESC), the research and consultancy firm of Jospong Group of Companies and Sanitation giants, Zoomlion, are currently in Kigali, the Rwandan capital, to understudy that country’s waste management system and good environmental and sanitation practices.
The visit is to afford the delegation to learn first-hand how those practices could be adopted for implementation by the AMA to make Accra and Ghana the cleanest city and country in Africa in the foreseeable future.
The Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Mohammed Adjei Sowah, and the Managing Director (MD) of AFESC, Dr Abena Asomaning Antwi, are co-leaders of the delegation.
Others are the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Korle Klottey, Nii Adjei Tawiah, Dr Kofi Sekyere Boateng, an Environmental and Public Health consultant, Dr Yahaya Yakubu, an Environmental Analyst, Ms Jemima Lomotey, the Greater Accra Regional Economic Planning Officer, who is representing the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), and Mr Victor Kotey, Deputy Director, Waste Management Department, AMA.
Reacting to the issue on Thursday, May 6 on Onua TV’s Maakye hosted by Adwoa Konadu-Yiadom and Ohemaa Acheampomaa, Dr. Marfo said: “I don’t know anything new they are going to bring to Ghana.”
“We have waste management experts in Ghana. We have the assemblies and I don’t think they don’t know what to do. It is the attitudes of the Ghanaian people.”
The Member of Parliament for Oforikrom Constituency in the Ashanti Region said “we should not dump refuse anywhere. People dump refuse indiscriminately and those who are going to arrest them also take money and leave them”.
“90% of the problem is attitude so if you go and study it, it gives you encouragement. They will bring the plan but the one to implement the plan will not.”
He explained that the trip is important but the experts are in Ghana to help solve the sanitation challenges.
“I will not say it’s not important but we have a lot of experts. At the universities they have them. What is left is the enforcement and those to work with. Let us hope they are going to bring something new in Ghana.”
Dr. Marfo said Rwanda “is a country that law works. They are law abiding and it’s a different contest from Ghana. They have gone through war but we have not gone through war, yet the laws are working”.
By Kweku Antwi-Otoo|3news.com|Ghana