The Moral Imperative of Sanitation: Reclaiming the Samansaman Spirit for Ghana’s Future

As an educator here at Golden Star Basic School in Bogoso, my days are spent shaping the minds of Ghana’s future leaders. Every morning during assembly, we teach our students about patriotism, civic responsibility, and personal hygiene. Yet, the moment these children walk out of the school gates, they face a contradictory reality. They walk past clogged drains in our local markets, navigate plastic-littered pathways, and watch as public spaces are treated as open dumpsites. This is not just an issue in the Prestea-Huni Valley Municipal; it reflects a national environmental crisis.

According to data from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research (ISSER), Ghana loses over ₵6.2 billion every year due to poor sanitation and waste management. This failure drains vital resources that could otherwise fund schools, healthcare, and community infrastructure. To reverse this damage and protect our public health, Ghanaian leaders, municipal assemblies, and traditional stakeholders must embrace the principle of Sankofa. We must look to our history and revive the structural discipline of the Samansaman era.

1. The Legacy of Uncompromising Municipal Law

During the colonial and post-colonial periods, Ghanaian towns maintained an exceptional baseline of cleanliness under the watchful eyes of Town Council sanitary inspectors. Popularly known as the Samansaman (derived from "Summons Man"), these officers possessed immense legal authority. Armed with simple notebooks and an unyielding eye for dirt, they conducted routine, rigorous checks of every household compound. They inspected water storage barrels for mosquito larvae, checked domestic latrines, and ensured that immediate surroundings were spotless.

The success of the Samansaman did not rely on multi-million dollar donor funds or complex international frameworks. It operated on a foundation of consistent, ground-level law enforcement. If an inspector found accumulated filth or an unchecked breeding ground for disease, a municipal court summons followed immediately. No political connection, family lineage, or social status could protect an offender from swift public accountability or a fine. This impartial enforcement created a powerful nationwide culture of preventative hygiene.

2. The Implementation Gap in Modern Policy
Today, Ghana does not lack brilliant environmental strategies. The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, alongside various local government bodies, has produced numerous comprehensive National Solid Waste Management Strategies. However, a massive implementation gap persists across our Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Political interference, weak institutional enforcement, and a general lack of civic accountability have left our local policies virtually

Unlike the past, modern environmental health officers lack the consistent visibility and authority required to curb systemic waste issues. Landlords openly build multi-tenant structures without household toilets, assuming building codes will never be enforced. Furthermore, major corporate entities generate tons of single-use plastic packaging without being held accountable for recycling or sustainable collection, leaving local municipal budgets overwhelmed trying to clear the waste.

3. A Digitalized Roadmap for Modern MMDAs
Embracing Sankofa does not mean recreating historical fear or using outdated colonial methods. Instead, it means adapting the core principles of that era—swift justice, routine inspection, and individual accountability—into a modernized, technological framework for our 21st-century communities:

Empower Officers with Mobile Reporting Tech: The Ministry of Local Government and Decentralization must properly resource municipal assemblies like Prestea-Huni Valley. Environmental Health Officers should be equipped with digital logging tablets and smartphones. Replacing the old paper notebooks with mobile reporting apps allows officers to instantly log sanitation infractions, upload geo-tagged photo evidence of choked gutters, and track repeat offenders transparently to eliminate bribery.

Hold Corporate Plastic Producers Accountable: True sanitation reform requires tackling waste at its source. Leaders must enforce strict extended producer responsibility (EPR) laws. Corporate packaging giants must financially support municipal waste systems or build dedicated plastic collection hubs in trading centers like Bogoso, ensuring that those who profit from plastic help pay to clean it up.

Establish Fast-Track Sanitation Courts: To ensure swift legal backing, the judiciary should institute localized, fast-tracked sanitation tribunals within our municipalities. When a citizen, landlord, or business entity violates local waste disposal laws, they must face immediate, highly visible consequences such as swift financial penalties or mandatory community service to act as a clear public deterrent.

Integrate Chieftaincy and Community Pride: Top-down policing alone cannot change mindsets. Stakeholders must partner with traditional leaders to revive community-led cleanup initiatives, drawing inspiration from historical Krobo or Asafo communal tasks. Blending municipal laws with indigenous pride allows us to build healthy, dignified, and safe environments from the grassroots up.

Conclusion: A Lesson We Must Teach and Practice

True leadership is defined by the courage to enforce laws that protect public welfare and secure the future for the next generation. We cannot continue to watch an environmental crisis compromise public health and drain billions of cedis from our national economy every single year.

From my perspective as a teacher at Golden Star Basic School, I urge our municipal directors, assembly members, and traditional leaders to look back to the discipline of our elders. Let us find the political will to re-establish strict environmental accountability in every home, market, and school across Bogoso and the wider Ghanaian nation.

By Clement Adusah
Teacher, Golden Star Basic School – Bogoso

Prestea-Huni Valley Municipal, Western Region