Parliamentary surgery in Ghana?

Summary:

Waste Management practices

Accra is filthy and highly polluted

Short range missile attack

Public Health safety net.

Problems of litter, broken pallets…

Prostitution/Begging

Kuffour in Geneva, Switzerland.

Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), like other Area Councils in Ghana, are suffering from rheumatic heart diseases and cerebral abscess, which calls for quick Parliamentary intervention, in the form of, diagnosis, surgery and treatment : there is no magic wand in finding solutions to such heart and brain problems: . Other area councils stretching from Nkawkaw to Navrongo, Takoradi to Tema, and Tamale, and Obuasi, Sunyani, Koforidua and Ho are all suffering from lever and broken leg injuries and must be fixed to improve public health, to avoid endemic out-break of cholera and malaria related diseases: to help increase country’s life-span, presently pegged at 57.

WHO says, “Prevention is better than cure”. Undoubtedly, Survey and research would lead to data collection, which would assist to ascertain extent of waste problems, which would serve as a catalyst to development of waste management strategy, to help implement waste management solutions.

Waste Management practices:

Ghana is greatly lacking behind in terms of waste management. Serious efforts must be made for a more modern sustainable waste management practices at various levels; in this sphere, Local Authorities have a crucial role to play in securing a sustainable environment at the local level and contributing to sustainability outcomes at regional/national levels.

Therefore, Institutions like AMA and the rest require technical expertise and know-how to be able to carry-out their duties, involving waste management. In-depth investigations must be conducted to examine the operations of AMA and the rest, i.e. like hiring of qualified personnel, making sure that square pegs have not been placed in round holes; financing of its projects or programs, to check any form of abuses; and assessment of its manpower and technical requirements and exploitation, in terms of usage and financing, to optimize their operations; and also their regulatory programs to enforce discipline.

Accra is filthy, and highly polluted:

Accra is dirty, (unclean, filthy and highly polluted) stinks (unpleasant odor, stench, smell horribly): night soil are dumped into gutters and people ease themselves anywhere-- at the beaches, that gutter in asylum down, that old Nsawam road from St John’s Secondary to the Barrier: Accra is stinky and smells, and if there are no places of convenience, what should you expect?

A Swiss married to Ghanaian decided to visit Bukom. At the Salaga market, she was attracted by sale-marks of the fish-mongers and decided to visit the market. “Something caught my attention and as I hurried to cross the street, to avoid a speeding and an un-coming taxi, my left foot slipped into a gutter”:

Emma continued: fortunately I wasn’t hurt. But when I managed to pull off my feet from the gutter, a stinking, smelling black paint was what covered my feet and my leg. The stench was worse than that smell from Neutron explosion.

Emma said: I was deeply touched by the quick attention given me by a number of women who rushed to my aid, with fresh buckets of water; the gutters have not been cleaned for ages. In Accra, drivers have no respect for pedestrians.

Emma opined: If Micheal Jackson were to be visiting Accra, he will need the new Jumbo Air- Bus 380, packed with oxygen and face masks.

Short range missile attack:

In another development, Kwame Boye arrived from London and decided to follow-up to collect his personal effects from Yaw Mensah, then lodging in East Legon, near the celebrated footballer, Abedi Pele’s House: read his accounts:

“At 18h45, I mistakenly thought that I’ve arrived in Baghdad. Within seconds I was hit by short range missiles from mosquito’s’ bites: I ran to take cover in my car, inside was worse than hell, mosquito invasion and I felt just like being on the firing line in Afghanistan.

Boye: My face and parts of my body were already swollen from dreadful mosquito bites. I ran into a nearby air conditioned shop: I came back the next day to inspect the cause of such mosquito raid: the gutters were full, a dangerous breeding ground. The Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR) of the W.H.O, says: One obvious reason for causes of widespread of tropical diseases is that, the hot climate present during all the year and the larger volume of rains directly affect the formation of breeding grounds, the larger number and variety of natural reservoirs and animal diseases that can be transmitted to humans (zoonosis), the largest number of possible insect ventors of diseases. It is possible also that higher temperatures may favour the replication of pathogenic agents both inside and outside biological organisms. Socio-economic factors may be also in operation, since most of the poorest nations of the world are in the tropics. Tropical countries likeBrazil, which have improved their socio-economic situation and invested in hygene, public health and the combat of transmissible diseases have achieved dramatic results in relation to the elimination or decrease of many endemic tropical diseases in their territory. Public Health safety net: Pity, Paul Wolfwitz, the outgoing President of World Bank, could not issue a statement after his visit to Nima: the media missed such golden opportunity, to interview him. Mosquitoes’ sans- frontiers, out-break of diseases have no boundaries; even if you are non-paying resident in the Castle, or a citizen resident in Navrongo, Paga or Donkorkrom, the ill-fated and poorly equipped public healthy safety net, cannot give you cover: and if you are among the lucky ones covered with medical insurance, the cost on your premium might then be hitting the ceiling.

Parliament after thorough investigations must then make a short and long term recommendations to the government. Its select committee must be able to conduct on the spot investigations into operations of some of the Area councils like, AMA to upgrade their plans to improve waste management. Area councils must be well equipped, in terms of manpower and modern machinery to improve seriously, their programs relating to household rubbish, litter, street cleaning, fly posting, fly tipping, abandoned vehicles and public convenience. Plans should be made to cover, among others, survey, research procurement of modern equipments, tough regulatory measures, public education programs, information delivery, community participation and partnership.

Community partnership will help to instill virtue and pride in keeping the environment clean with a zero tolerance policy clampdown on grime crime. Law breakers on littering, fly tipping, throwing of leaves and plastic items, like sugar cane covers must be targeted. Educational campaign on cleanliness must he initiated, targeting school pupils into the arena to fight against uncleanness, business community and market women, and voluntary organizations, sought to join the fray.

Problems of litter, broken pallets:

Immediate plans must be developed to improve waste management at food, vegetable meat and fishing markets, while restaurants and ‘chop bars’ are rigorously inspected. I visited Tema fishing market recently and the place appeared to have suffered from a nuclear bomb attack. Several markets suffer from problems of litter, broken pallets and polystyrene boxes which affect the health of both the public and fish merchants. The area councils should be equipped with a mission, including strict enforcement of health inspection laws, to improve environmental quality in order to protect public health, the welfare of its citizens and the area’s natural resources.

Waste separation practices in developed countries could be applied to enhance the homogeneity of waste recovered and help minimize its level of contamination. In this sense, the Environmental Protection Agency can assist Ghana to conduct research or survey and advise the government to encourage private investment in the recycling business, as part of a long term projection.

Then, waste streams which should be separated like in the countries of Italy, Britain, France and Switzerland, be directed towards recycling, including paper, cardboards, plastics, tires, batteries, wood and green waste, metal and bulky refuse, computers and glass. Preventing, reducing and recycling waste is a synonymous to sustainable waste management.

Prostitution/Begging:

Community action groups, working in partnership with the police should be formed to check anti-social behavior in council areas, to deal with incidents of nuisance behavior by adults and young people. Hot lines must be set up to report such incidents including: (1)Harassment of residents or passers-by, (2) Verbal abuse ,(3)Criminal damage (4)Vandalism (5)Graffiti (6) Noise nuisance (7) Prostitution (8)Begging (9) Drinking alcohol under age (10)Vehicle-related nuisance (11) litter dropping, (12) abandoned cars (13) dumping rubbish, (14) dangerous parking: Reporting anti-social behavior and grime will help to eliminate abuses. Our streets must be maintained to a high environmental standard stipulated under guidelines of Environmental Protection Agency. There aim should be to: · Keep all roads free from litter, detritus, weed growth, rubbish and animal drops. · Empty litter bins at a frequency that prevents them from overflowing · Keep public land free of fly tipping (and we work with the Council's enforcement officers to ensure fly-tipping is investigated and legal action taken, where appropriate) · Keep the roads clear of dangerous wet leaves and blossom · Transmitting reports of dead animals and drug litter, notifying the owners of dead animals, wherever possible. · Investigate reports of abandoned vehicles within 24 hours · Remove abandoned vehicles within 24 hours after expiry of notification. Suggestions to improve present chaotic situation in Accra; that:

(1) Immediate political decision is taken to move the capital to the north, around Yendi: (2) Burma camp be re-located to the Afram plains in the Kwahu north, and the area be created a green zone. (3) International airport be constructed around Shai hills: (4) Heavily saturated Accra central be created a free traffic zone in and around Mokola market and the area of Okai-shi. (5). The railway station near Mokola be demolished and the place cleaned-up; and also developed as a green zone area.

(6) Serious efforts must be made to improve public transportation system, which will help to re-locate the lorry station in the circle area and the one near the MTU to the outskirts of the city.

.(7) The Police Regional/District headquarters must be knock-down and re-located; the area created as a green zone, and children play grounds. (8) The law should be vigorously enforced to stop street hawking, and dislodge those using street sides as market grounds... (9) Strict police control measures be taken to infuse traffic discipline on Abossey- Okai/Kaneshie/Bubuashi road, Ring road, Circle and Achimota. (10) Congratulating to Jerry Rawlings’ government for having ‘dynamite’ Mokola No.1 market, for whatever reasons: Regrettably, it plan had a short-fall to creating a green zone and using the area as children’s play grounds.

Kuffour in Geneva:

Today, Sunday, 3rd June, Ghana’s President, Mr. J.A. Kuffour, arrived in Geneva, Switzerland, on his first leg tour of Europe, where he is scheduled to attend the 33rd G8 Summit in Berlin, Germany. By the time he wakes up in the morning, the street of Geneva have already been washed clean, with highly automatic mobile machines, and high quality detergents, just like bed-sheets and covers in his hotel room (pardon my language) at the Bellevue.

If President Kuffour can ‘go for a walk’, even after 02h00 hours, without his body-guards, and from 06h00 hours, ‘go on jogging’ and could do his shopping in the town centre, without fear of being mugged or attacked; that is the nature of the security situation here, run by a highly motivated , well-paid, extremely disciplined police, equipped with high tech equipments and machinery to work; engaged in promoting effectively, peace, stability and prosperity of Confederation Helvétique (SWISS)

The President and his entourage by seeing, will learn about the efficient operation of Switzerland’s public transportation system and other important infused ethics, that bus tickets are pre-paid, that some daily news papers are distributed free of charge, designed to enhance public’s assess to information. Visiting Geneva city itself, the President and his entourage, will see creation of beautiful green zones, made up of forests and fantastic beaches, both stretching several kilometers, marked by pedestrian lanes: Taxation system is also effective, which help to finance utility services and sectors like education, police and the army. Welcome, Mr. President.

Views expressed by the author(s) do not necessarily reflect those of GhanaHomePage.