Ridding Accra of filth and
the rest of the country by extension has been a preoccupation of various
governments each applying an assortment of modules. However, none of the
previous governments went to the extent of touting a desire of making the
nation’s capital one of the cleanest on the continent as has President
Akufo-Addo.
Under former President John
Agyekum Kufuor the task of beautifying the nation’s capital was pushed to the
front burner with the creation of a ministry to champion that cause. Projects
are dependent on attitudinal changes to achieve their goals. But bringing the
people along has always been challenging.
Most people especially
those living in slums would continue to sit on the fence unappreciative of the
importance of brightening their corners as a means of keeping diseases at bay.
When President Akufo-Addo
put forth his ‘cleanest city’ desire many wondered how feasible the project
would be. The hesitance of the skeptics as to the success or otherwise of the
project is borne out of the general indifference of Ghanaians to matters
bordering on management of filth or litter, especially in the nation’s capital.
A historical background of
this conundrum would be a necessary additive to this commentary. One of the
tasks of the colonial administration from its onset was the enforcement of
hygiene among the inhabitants of early Accra.
The outbreak of diseases
and their management by the colonial authorities compelled the Brits to unfold
strict hygiene standards in response. Available archival literature indicates
that it took a strict enforcement of the hygiene by-laws to rid Accra of filth
and for the Europeans to live close to the residents.
The great plaque of 1908
was triggered by mice which in turn thrived under the prevailing unhygienic
conditions of parts of Accra.
The introduction of
sanitary inspectors as part of enforcement unit of the Accra Town Council, as
it was known, was informed by the importance of keeping the city clean and
bereft of filth. The inspectors were called Tankas, a bastardized form of Town
Council.
Perhaps had the colonial
authorities educated the locals about the importance of hygiene and therefore
brought them along they would have understood the issue and contributed immensely
towards its success.
Today here we are many
years after the end of colonial administration still struggling to have our
people appreciate the role of hygiene in our cities.
Last week on social media
a man on the Tema Motorway compelled a foreigner who had thrown an empty bottle
from a moving car to pick it up.
When all residents of the
city begin to become conscious about the neatness of the nation’s capital, we
too would join the ranks of the Kigalis and other cities whose managers and
residents have embraced the ‘clean city’ agenda.
There is no reason why
Accra should continue to wear the unenviable tag of ‘a city of litter.’
Sanctions should be
applied on litter defaulters alongside accompanying education through religious
groups, traditional setups and others.
Cleanliness should be put
on an aggressive footing otherwise we shall remain a quagmire as we appear to
be in our bid to give our national capital a new look.
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