The Sowutuom district office of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE) in collaboration with Ga Central Municipal Assembly has launched a project dubbed ‘Safeguarding the Environment’ focusing on community sanitation. The programme was held at the auditorium of Pentecost University College, Accra.
In her welcome address, Ms. Cynthia Anima Boadu, NCCE Municipal Director indicated that as a Commission, we are mandated by the 1992 Constitution to inculcate in the citizenry civic mindedness thus the project. The project is aimed at training Junior and Senior High School students as sanitation ambassadors to embark on public education to inculcate in the citizenry the need to keep the environment clean. The project seeks to ensure that environmental health laws are enforced. She explained that the project will be undertaken on a quarterly basis over a period of four years and would be replicated in other district within the period. She called on all stakeholders to support the project.
The Municipal Chief Executive of Ga Central, Dr. Emmanuel Lamptey, said ‘it is our responsibility and if we fail to keep the environment clean posterity will judge us and our children will suffer for it’. He stated that sustainable waste management to him is a necessity and a big challenge his Assembly is exploring ways to improve upon it. He further discussed the three(3) R’s that is reduce, reuse and recycle and said the first and second R’s falls on citizens to practice it. Dr. Lamptey identified suggestive solutions to the sanitation challenges. He reiterated the need for all stakeholders to educate and orient the public on cleanliness, adopt bin use and further entreated all to support the programme.
The chairman of the NCCE Ms. Josephine Nkrumah said that a more radical approach should be used to tackle the sanitation situation if we want to see change. Ms. Nkrumah said it is important that we use the youth as agents of change. She charged the youth to be deliberate and intentional by being polite and insist that the right thing be done. As peer educators, they should take the workshop seriously because title come with great responsibility. She thanked the Ga Central Municipality Assembly, Ghana Education Service, Pentecost University College and the media for supporting the NCCE to implement the project.
The chairman for the occasion was the Principal of the Pentecost University College, Mr. Michael Wisdom Gyimah. In his closing remarks said it gives him great joy that the youth had taken control of the situation because the adults have failed and disappointed Ghana. To him sanitation is the highest form of culture and so we should let our cleanliness determine our culture. He support the view of Ms. Nkrumah about taking a radical approach to solving the sanitation menace. Concluding, Mr.Gymiah advised participants to be responsible and endeavor in our own small way bring the change we want to see.
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