Dutch Ambassador calls for proper handling of plastic waste

Accra, July 27, GNA – Mr Gerard Duijfjes, Netherlands Ambassador to Ghana, on Wednesday called on the public to be cautious about the way they handle plastic waste.

He said it was important for all to have a positive mindset as to how best plastic waste could be managed in order to maintain a clean and healthy environment.

Mr Duijfjes made the call when he paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in Accra.

He said the visit was to formally introduce himself to the Minister since his arrival and also make known the Embassy’s intention to support the country in water and sanitation management.

Mr Duijfjes noted that sanitation and water were very crucial to the lives of the people and that it was important to attach enough attention to them in order to build a healthy country.

He said the Embassy would need the support of Government in achieving this goal.

“We are looking forward to working in collaboration with the government for a successful programme,” he said.

Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, thanked the Netherlands Government for its support to the Ministry in programmes to enhance the environment.

He said managing water and sanitation in the country, especially in the urban centres, had been a great challenge to the Ministry, adding that a lot of resources had been channelled into the area in the past few years.

“There is the need to adopt a holistic approach towards urban sanitation, since urbanization is gradually catching up with us, and we need to be ready and have the ability to tackle the ever growing and heavily populated urban cities.”

Mr Ofosu Ampofo said the government was considering ways of decentralizing water supply by building and strengthening the water agencies to allow the rural communities to own and manage their water systems in order to ease the pressure on Government.

He also thanked the Netherlands Government for supporting the School Feeding Programme, saying it had helped to tackle issues that affected food security and improved the lives of rural settlers.