During the rainy season, many places, especially in Accra were flooded. Some people even lost their lives as a result. Anytime it threatens to rain, people in flood-prone areas panic.
One of the main causes of the floods is that most of the gutters are choked so when it rains it easily overflows. The choked gutters are the result of people littering their communities with solid and other waste.
People dump rubbish in gutters and every available open place. This is because they are too lazy to find a dustbin and dump the rubbish in there or pay for their waste to be cleared for them.
Lack of dustbins at strategic points in the city is also a reason why people litter and get the gutters choked. The choked gutters also breed mosquitoes, cockroaches, mice as well as attract flies which infect us with diseases such as cholera, malaria among others.
A number of people have died from the recent cholera outbreak and the large sum of money used to treat patients could have been used for other development projects in some communities if those communities had been kept clean.
Regular education of all citizens is, therefore, important to keep the environment clean by disposing of rubbish at appropriate places. The advert currently running on television about littering must be intensified and the message translated into the various languages so as to target a wide range of people.
However, the government should also provide bins throughout the country so that one can easily locate a garbage container to avoid littering. Those who litter the neighbourhoods should be punished to serve as deterrent to others.
We should also be one another’s keeper and ensure that anytime we find anyone littering we would not look on unconcerned but draw their attention to that habit and what it could cause to other residents.
Parents should also make their children understand that they put people in their communities at risk if they do not dispose of refuse at the appropriate places; children should learn how to dispose of refuse appropriately.
Communities should organise clean-up exercises periodically so that their surroundings and gutters would be cleared and kept clean all the time.
This way our communities will be free from diseases such as cholera which can be prevented.
