Agona West Environmental Health Directorate intensifies public education on environmental cleanliness

The Agona West Municipal Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate has said it is intensifying its public education on environmental cleanliness to combat cholera cases.

The Principal Environmental Health Officer of the Agona West Municipal Assembly in the Central Region, Mr. Emmanuel Ampong who disclosed these to Newsmen noted that most of the private and basic schools in the Municipality had been covered.

He added that churches, lorry stations, market centers, pubs and other public places were being educated to keep their environment tidy. "So far so good," Mr. Ampong stated.

Mr. Emmanuel Ampong noted that Agona West Municipality had not recorded record cholera cases for over 8 years, attributing the recent cholera cases to the failure of people to keep their environment clean.

"We in the Environmental Health and Sanitation Department of the Agona West Municipal Assembly are doing our best to eradicate environmental related diseases.

"It is our priority to ensure that our Municipality gains its glory once again as the cleanness District in the Central Region for 8 consecutive years, a position we have been proud of for a number of years, we will not rest until our aims and objectives are meant to improve health status of the people in our operational area," he stated.

Mr. Emmanuel Ampong however lamented how some residents deliberately turned deaf ears to the call on them to keep their environment clean and tidy at all times.

"Even though our public education on environmental cleanliness is ongoing, we have been compelled to prosecute 11 sanitation offenders at the law Court to serve as a deterrent to others and to facilitate the fight against environmental-related diseases, especially cholera.

"They were charged for various sanitation offences including discharging of septic tank into public drain, dumping of refuse at authorized places and selling of expired products to the general public among others.

"While some of them were cautioned to be of good behaviour, others were fined according to the degree of offence with others being put on surveillance cameras and are being monitored," Mr. Emmanuel Ampong stated.

The Agona West Municipal Manager of Zoomlion Company Limited, Mr Christian Ocran assured that his outfit would continue to work assiduously to keep the Municipality clean.