The world cries about Ghana

Heavy rainfall has flooded many parts of Accra, resulting in the loss of precious, innocent lives, processions and destruction of properties. Rain in Ghana is an annual event, nothing new. Ghanaian politicians express their condolences to the bereaved families, hand out Ghc 300 Mio., call to end the indiscipline of people dumping refuse anywhere, litter the environment by throwing away plastic bottles and rubber, or build illegal structures in waterways, while complaining when the government, from time to time, uses drastic actions to demolish such houses and kiosks.

Former President of Ghana, Nana Akufo-Addo, promised to make Accra the cleanest city in all of Africa. On June, third 2015 when heavy rainfall killed 150 people around Circle, President John Dramani Mahama came out to mourn the loss of innocent lives, promising to pay for all medical bills involved and assist affected people and families to rebuild their lives. He declared publically such a devastating event should never occur again in Ghana. Both Presidents and their parties, NPP and NDC, have let their people down.

After the 1994 Genocide in Rwanda, President Paul Kagame set out a plan and put it into motion. Each citizen once a month has to stop working for a day, a Saturday. Local communities come together to clean around their compounds and areas. The country had no funds to pay for street cleaners, demanding that the citizens of the nation step in and engage by force in the clean-up exercises each month, not voluntarily whenever they wish. He put up little boxes in public spaces. In Singapore, after independence in the 1960s, the President set a plan into motion by which citizens littering the environment get serious, heavy fines, repeat offenders are put under supervision, and those who repeatedly violate the set standards to keep Singapore clean will be publicly exposed.

President John Dramani Mahama sets out a plan to relocate part of Accra to another location to ease the pressure on the infrastructure of the capital. Nations like Brazil, Kenya, and Tanzania had previously done the same. To move part of an entire city to another location is not helpful unless a holistic plan is set in motion.

From March 2012 until December 2017, I lived in Sakumono, Ghana. As a German citizen, I opened my eyes and did not see! My office was inside Bediako Brothers Pharmacy, next to the GOIL petrol station at the Circle, which burned down in the 2015 disaster. My partner Debs Bediako drowned in that fateful night, and a state funeral with 4000 people in attendance was held to honour him. After the funeral, I looked around and did not see. Again, I did not see as much as I wanted to see.

What did I not see? Litter boxes! In Germany each 400 or 500 meters, citizens find litter boxes in public spaces to dump their refuse. Every bus stop and train station is equipped with an orange litter box. The boxes have stickers on them, which could also be used by companies to advertise products and services, through which the boxes come for free and, at best, make money for the City of Hamburg. Old Hamburgers complain about the youth ignoring the various means Hamburg has provided for keeping the streets of Hamburg clean, and foreigners not trained to dispose of their litter in the right way. Recycling yards are located across Hamburg for old electronic devices, batteries, furniture, tyres and paint, etc., to be taken care of properly. Hamburg, by all standards, is not as clean as Kigali in Rwanda or Singapore; it must be confessed. Our city has a catalogue to find people for littering the environment. The fines are too low to have an impact. Environmental Protection Sheriffs running around locating illegal dumping sites in the streets of the city sometimes locate the offenders, who will be asked to pay for the removal of their refuse, covering the costs involved for the Council. The fines are not high enough to deter offenders from repeating their behaviour, and to bring an end to it. Rules enforcement in Hamburg is not taken as seriously as in Rwanda or Singapore due to party politics and democracy.

To keep a city clean is a combination of a strategic plan, enforcement of the rules, serious fines and providing means for citizens to follow the set rules and imposed standard. It is not rocket science and not expensive. On the contrary. A source of income.

For governments to solve a mess fast, the private sector must get involved. When each offence in the sector of environmental destruction is serious enough, private companies and individuals get interested and ready to act. Licensed companies and individuals, based on credible evidence, can be employed as the eyes of the state in the local area. Their work can be rewarded with part of the fine the individual has to pay for their offence. Resistance of the offenders will mount while, over time, they will enjoy the benefits of a clean city. Rwanda is always a very good standard for any African country when it comes to keeping Kigali clean. It makes foreigners wonder why Nana Akufo-Addo and President John Dramani Mahama have not asked Rwanda for a helping hand to tackle the matter.

To move part of a city means the problems will follow the relocated citizens unless rules change in the course of the resettlement.

How many litter boxes does Accra have as of now? The world is crying over Ghana.