The Deputy Communications Officer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) for Zebilla and a member of the party’s Upper East Regional Communications Team, William Apalyam, has emphasized the importance of shared responsibility in maintaining a clean and healthy environment as part of the government’s renewed national sanitation initiative.
Speaking on A1 Radio, Apalyam commended local assemblies for efforts to promote sanitation within communities but acknowledged that ensuring environmental cleanliness remains a major challenge that requires the active participation of all citizens. He explained that the sanitation initiative seeks to instill a lasting culture of cleanliness through regular community clean-up activities and ongoing public education.
“We realized that it is an enormous task on the assemblies, and so there’s a need for us to also support. At least, with time, the awareness of keeping the environment clean will catch up with everybody so that even if you want to throw something away, that guilt will be in your head — then we’ll put things in the right places.”
He noted that cleanliness must become a daily habit rather than an occasional effort. According to him, when individuals become more conscious of proper waste disposal, the tendency to litter will gradually decline. He referenced past systems such as the town council, popularly known as “samasama,” which helped ensure household accountability and contributed to cleaner surroundings.
“Remember in the past, we used to have what we called ‘samasama.’ They used to go around, and when they got to your house and it was filthy, they summoned you and charged you — and things were better. The environment was cleaner than it is today. In this case, we are trying to create awareness that there is a need to continuously clean and recognize that cleanliness is a shared responsibility,” he said.
Apalyam stressed the health and economic significance of sanitation, arguing that investing in preventive measures is more beneficial than spending heavily on treating preventable diseases.
“Once it has to do with your health, you must have the resources. Otherwise, the amount you will spend to treat yourself would be more than what you spend on cleaning,” he said.
He added that government has allocated funds to support ongoing clean-up exercises nationwide, though he could not confirm the exact amount.
“As I speak now, I may be unable to give exact figures as to how much the government is allocating for the clean-up exercises, but indeed, there is some small fund allocated to ensure we have a very clean environment.”
Apalyam expressed optimism that with consistency, community involvement and continued government support, Ghanaians will ultimately adopt a culture of environmental responsibility comparable to that seen in more developed countries. He said that by the end of President Mahama’s four-year term, the goal is for citizens to embrace regular clean-up activities as a civic duty, helping build healthier communities and reducing sanitation-related health challenges nationwide.
Source: a1radioonline.com|101.1Mhz|GIfty Eyram Kudiabor|Bolgatanga
