Editorial (The Daily Searchlight, 4th April, 2022)
It has been reported that the Achimota Magistrate Court has fined 15 out of 45 persons who were arrested by the Environmental Health Officers of the Ablekuma North Assembly for flouting the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” by-law (The front page lead story, Daily Searchlight, April 4, 2022).
The fines ranged between GHS 1,200.00 and GHSc3,600.00 as stipulated by the by-law.
The 15 arrested persons are tenants at Kwashieman and Darkuman and were prosecuted for keeping their premises untidy with choked gutters, overflowing garbage and uncollected heaps of rubbish.
The Environmental Health Unit of the Assembly had earlier served the offending persons with caution notices to cease the nuisance, but it all was ignored.
Mr Paul Agbagba, the Prosecutor of the Ablekuma North Assembly indicated that after some time the matter was reported at the Odorkor Police Station and the sanitation offenders were arrested.
He said the remaining 30 persons were being processed for court.
The Daily Searchlight commends the Environmental Health Officers of the Ablekuma North Assembly for the great work they are doing in ensuring that they use law to ensure sanitary conditions in their district.
So far, this is the most progressive move we have heard in a long time when it comes to ensuring sanitation in Accra and Ghana, for the matter.
This is a move that this newspaper have long advocated for, and we believe that it surpasses any other decision taken so far in as far as sanitation in Ghana is concerned.
We believe that it is not the various public campaigns on sanitation, but in ensuring that sanitation laws are obeyed, and that the citizens obey these laws, that would lead to a clean and spotless Ghana.
The beauty about it, as well, is the fact that government can also gain significant revenue from the practice.
We commend the officers of Environmental Health Officers of the Ablekuma North Assembly, and we hope that their achievements would serve as a role model for other assemblies.
