Enforce sanitation bye-laws… D/Assemblies charged

THE FIRST Consumer Welfare Association (COWAS), ever to be established in the country, to cater for the general well-being of the consuming public, has urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, to strictly enforce sanitation bye laws, in order to ensure good sanitary practices.

COWAS advised Ghanaians to stop the indiscriminate dumping of waste, at any available space, in order to maintain good sanitary conditions, and called for the empowerment of the Assemblies, to impose instant fines on those who desecrate the environment.

Quoting Daasebre Professor (Emeritus) Oti Boateng, Omanhene of New Juaben Traditional Area, who happens to be the Patron of the association, to the effect that without health, there will be no life, and hence no development, the chairman of COWAS, Mr. J. K. Asare, reiterated that every Ghanaian had the duty to keep to good sanitary practices to make our cities and towns clean.

”The health of a nation, encompassing the physical, emotional and social well-being of the people, serves as an important development indicator of the country. Health is therefore intrinsically related to development and national welfare,” he quoted the Juabenhene as saying.

The union also expressed its disgust at the sale of drugs, and herbal concoctions, which are mostly exposed to toxins.

Asare noted that the application of harmful chemicals on crops and food items, air pollution through chemicals and fumes and water contamination, through chemical spillage by industrialists, continue to maim and incapacitate able-bodied people at the expense of productivity and economic growth.

The association has consequently cautioned essential service providers, to respect the rights of consumers, said to be paramount, and ensure that they (consumers) get nothing, but the best.

Asare explained that since health is life, and health issues have been the bane of society over the years, COWAS, established in July last year, would concentrate on two broad areas of health, namely preventive and curative.

As part of activities to prevent the spread of diseases as a result of contamination, COWAS would embark on monitoring the quality of food, drinking water, plates, sanitation grounds and service points in schools, as well as inspect the general sanitation and storage of food items at market places, and health care facilities.

Asare also indicated that the activities of COWAS, would be extended to factories, production sites, chop bars, drinking spots and restaurants, to monitor the quality of raw materials, quality assurance mechanisms, food preparation and waste, and waste disposal among others.

“COWAS would as well check unnecessary price adjustments, by sellers/retailers, distributors and manufacturers,” Asare said.