Sankofa: 'Tankase' Concept To Be Revived

THE Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment will, next Tuesday, December 12, relaunch the Sanitary Inspection Concept, popularly known as “Saman, Saman” or “Tankase” at Techiman.

The decision is to help arrest the environmental and insanitary problems that have engulfed the country.

Mr Stephen Asamoah-Boateng, the sector minister, announced this in Parliament yesterday when contributing to a statement on waste management in the country by Mr Enoch Teye Mensah (NDC-Ningo/Prampram).

Mr. Mensah advocated that the legal and regulatory frameworks be firmly enforced to ensure compliance and acceptable behaviour from all sections of communities whether low income or high income.

Mr. Asamoah-Boateng said the country’s environmental sanitation was in crisis and called for pragmatic steps to deal with it.

He said district, municipal and metropolitan assemblies had been asked to review their by-laws to bring their penalties to conform with modern day realities.

He said refuse transit stations, were to be set up where refuse collected by bicycle operators would be separated for recycling before the transportation of the garbage to the final dump by trucks.

Meanwhile, the House has commended the Institute of Adult Education for sustaining the New Year School concept as a platform for dispassionate discussion and finding solutions to matters affecting national development.

Members of Parliament, however, expressed the need for taking serious steps to implement to the letter, recommendations arrived at during the school’s discussions.

They also urged the mass media to devote more time to discussing the topics to ensure massive civic education and adoption of the recommendations.

The comments were prompted by another statement by Mathias Puozaa (NDC-Nadowli East), on the 58th Annual New Year School to be hosted by the Institute from January 2 to 9, 2007 under the theme “Ghana at 50: Achievements, Challenges and the Future.”

Three papers – The Laws of Ghana (Revised Edition) (Volumes 1-7), the Tenth Report of the Appointments Committee on the President’s nomination for Deputy Ashanti Regional Minister and Agreement between the government and the Federal Republic of Germany for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income including capital gains, were laid before the House.

Budget estimates for six ministries and seven departments and agencies were also laid before the House.

They include, Ministries of Local Government, Rural Development and Environment, Foreign Affairs, NEPAD and Regional Integration, Harbours and Railways.

The rest are Trade, Industry, Private Sector Development and PSI, and Chieftaincy and Culture.