Parliament’s Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources has urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to enforce their sanitation bylaws to tackle indiscriminate waste disposal.
Chairman of the Committee, John Oti Bless, said indiscipline among residents remains a major obstacle to improving sanitation.
Speaking to JoyNews, he said having regulations on paper is not enough unless assemblies enforce them.
“One of our challenges in this country as far as these sanitation issues are concerned is indiscipline. Indiscriminate disposal of refuse is a problem,” he said.
“The assemblies must begin to put bylaws in place. They say they are bylaws, but they must begin to implement and enforce them. That is the only way we can get out of this mess,” he added.
His comments come as the Committee undertakes a nationwide monitoring exercise to assess sanitation conditions across the country.
Mr Oti Bless cited Rwanda as an example of a country that has made progress through strict regulations and compliance, and cautioned: “If you throw your refuse anyhow, it will come back to haunt you.”
He also appealed to the media to intensify public education on responsible waste disposal.
Source: MyJoyOnline / Stephen Aryeetey-Mensah
