Article: HRH The Prince Of Wales And The Checkmate

In recent times, most governments and civil society groups across the West African subregion have committed a lot of efforts into fighting the menace of improper sanitation which results in numerous adverse effects.

Filth has engulfed the capital city Accra and it is against this backdrop that the Mayor of Accra set a target of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

Sadly, our ocean hasn’t been spared. Plastic materials have found their way into the sea and this does not only pose risk to aquaculture but humans alike. This is an issue we must face head-on as a people in our quest to attain SDGs 6 and 11.

On 5th November 2018, HRH Prince Charles at Sandbox Beach Club in Accra led a campaign in pursuit of the Commonwealth blue charter under the theme ‘keeping the values of plastics in the economy and not the ocean’ .

Below are some of the highlights of the round table discussion;

i. There is the need for Ghana to invest in the recycling of plastics as a means of ensuring economic advantage.

ii. There must be an intervention to tackle over fishing and unscrupulous fishing activities on the high sea

iii. There must be a strategic measure to protect aquaculture as a means of promoting tourism.

iv. There is the need to Institute mangrove,reef plantation and other ocean restorative procedures to protect the environment.

v. It is imperative to totally end plastic pollution on our beaches and employ sustainable management measures for all water bodies.

In 2017, a UNICEF report stated that Ghana loses approximately $290 million annually due to poor sanitation. Ghana ranked low in sanitation among other lower middle income countries and also recorded 3,385 infant mortalities.

The fight to arrest the sanitation challenges in the country has not been a smooth one, successive governments have done well in contributing their quota. Nonetheless, it important to address this issue as a matter of urgency. This is what necessitated the Commonwealth Youth Council’s in partnership with National Youth Authority project is to sensitize the entire citizenry especially the youth in the basic and secondary schools on proper solid waste management.

The sanitation checkmate project which is an initiative of the Commonwealth Youth Council (CYC) will employ vigorous measures to inculcate in the youth the spirit of sanitation consciousness and solid waste management practices especially those aged between 7 to 17 years. The project will be piloted in the Ashanti Region and afterwards, it will be extended to Western, Central and Greater Accra Regions.

Some of the modules CYC seeks to institute are;

i. The partnership with RCS and UNICEF sanitation clubs in schools to use innovative ways of training pupils on solid waste management

ii. Environmental Sanitation should be an educational sub module

iii. Clean up activities and beautification project.

iv. Operation 2,000 dustbins
v. Cleanest City/ Region Awards to entice city authorities to effectively be responsible for their constituents.

The Commonwealth Youth Council will also like to take this opportunity to admonish the entire Ghanaian populace to ensure proper sanitation practices and the protection of the environment.