Greater Accra RCC endorses GCGL, ZGL sanitation ranking
The Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC) has thrown its weight behind the sanitation campaign launched by the Graphic Communications Group Ltd. (GCGL) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), describing it as an initiative that is capable of improving environmental cleanliness across the country.
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The GARCC has, therefore, called on all District Health Environmental Officers (DEHOs) and the Metropolitan/Municipal Environmental Health Officers (MEHOs) to implement innovative strategies that would help the region to come top on the Regional Sanitation Rankings.
The acting Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, who made the call, said the initiative was crucial as it would help to accelerate efforts towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Six and related targets.
In a speech read on his behalf by the Regional Economic Planning Director at the GARCC, Jemima Lomotey, he said the Cleanest Region Ranking initiative was in line with the "Let’s Make Greater Accra Work" and the "Operation Clean Your Frontage campaigns" rolled out by the council.
He stated this at a stakeholders' meeting organised by the GARCC in collaboration with GCGL and ZGL to discuss the Regional Sanitation Ranking, which is expected to be released latest by May, this year.
The NEHOs and DEHOs of the 29 MMDAs in Accra were present at the meeting, which was also attended by top officers of the GARCC. The environmental officers made inputs into the parameters for the rankings, which include the availability of solid waste infrastructure, access to sanitation and hygiene facilities, the prevalence of litter and illegal dumps and the enforcement of environmental regulation.
Good initiative
Mr Quartey said he was optimistic that through the initiative, environmental cleanliness would be enhanced across the country and in the Greater Accra Region in particular.
"Greater Accra Region has no excuse not to rank the best or among the highest regions, so I urge all environmental officers in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to sit up and help to keep the city clean," he said.
He stressed that apart from the bragging rights as the cleanest region, the benefits of a cleaner environment were enormous.
Development agenda
The Director, Marketing at the GCGL, Franklin Sowa, said the Regional Sanitation Ranking was one of the ways the companies were contributing to national development. He said after 74 years of existence as a media organisation, GCGL was a strong brand that was capable of spearheading initiatives that would bring improvement to human lives and put the country on the path of sustainable development.
Mr Sowa further said since SDG Six was central to the achievement of other targets, it was important for all stakeholders to work together to deliver effective sanitation services. He called on stakeholders at all levels to get involved in the cleanest sanitation rankings since the initiative would provide enormous opportunities for the regions to attract investors.
Collaboration
The Chief Director of GARCC, Lilian Baeka, underscored the need for all stakeholders to take the campaign seriously and see it as an opportunity to adopt best practices to improve on the challenges of sanitation in the region.
"I want to thank GCGL, ZGL and other partners who are implementing this initiative. Let us all work towards a cleaner environment in Accra and the country at large," she said. The Director of Communication and Corporate Affairs at ZGL, Emma Adwoa Appiaa Osei-Duah, said the partnership with the GCGL was strategic and would help to create awareness of sanitation and cleanliness.
She said ZGL had decided to partner the GCGL to execute the campaign because sanitation and a healthy environment were at the core of the national development agenda.
Background
On February 20, this year, the GCGL and waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, launched the Cleanest Region Ranking, an initiative to rank all 16 regions in the country in terms of environmental sanitation.
The campaign is being supported by software company, NERASOL; the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development and the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR).
The campaign is happening at a time when the country is racing against time to improve on the sanitation situation so as to achieve SDG Six.
