Cape Coast, Dec. 24, GNA – Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, Central Regional Minister, has pledged strong measures to drastically reduce open defecation in the region, saying, the target is to make 90 percent of the communities open defecation free (ODF) by the close of year 2022.
She said they were going to scale up the promotion of sanitation and this would focus on behavioural change through motivation, “name and shame” and assisting communities and individuals to understand the health risks associated with ODF.
She expressed concern about the poor sanitation in many parts of the region and said if left not tackled there could be outbreak of communicable diseases and derail efforts at making the region the tourism hub of Ghana.
Mrs. Assan was addressing an end-of-year meeting of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) in Cape Coast.
The meeting brought together the heads of ministries, departments and agencies to take stock of their activities and discuss the way forward to bring development to the region.
She called for the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) enact and enforce by-laws on environmental sanitation.
She suggested the reintroduction of the monthly clean-up exercises to clean the highways, beaches and gutters.
She condemned littering and dumping of waste in open drains and at unauthorized places by the people and said there was the need to help the people to do the right things.
“I am very passionate about sanitation issues and this has been one of my major drives,” she said, adding that the agenda could only become a reality if all stakeholders and the various institutions in the region accepted to play their expected part well.
Mrs. Assan announced plans to speed up development across region through the proposed Central Region Development Plan.
It focuses on developing key sectors of comparative advantage such as; education, tourism, infrastructure, security, environment, youth empowerment and Information and Communication Technology.
The region will be holding a Trade and Investment Fair, to allow the MMDAs to showcase their endowments, attract and retain investment to create jobs.
Source: Ghana News Agency
