The Okyehene, Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin is to use SMS text messaging to raise funds to support a sanitation improvement project. Mobile phone users on all networks can text a word which would attract a fee of GH¢1.
The move forms part of efforts to mobilize funds to support a sanitation enhancement initiative code named, ‘operation Cleaner and healthier Communities.’
A fund-raising campaign, aimed at supporting the initiative, is expected to be launched soon as special invitations have been sent to the business community and civil society groups that are at the center of the campaign.
Cooperate bodies and civil society organisations have therefore been urged to, among other things, make financial contributions as part of their corporate social responsibility towards finding sustainable solutions to the country’s sanitation problems.
Funds that would accrue from the campaign would be used to augment logistics such as waste haulage trucks, waste skips and litter bins.
Additionally, the initiative would include educational programmes which are aimed at changing the behavior of the public.
Osagyefo Amoatia Ofori Panin, who is noted for his devoted advocacy of environmental issues in Ghana, has over the years, bemoaned the spate of filth that has engulf the country saying “we need to take care of our environment to ensure we live healthy lives.”
He further stated that “the habit of throwing rubbish indiscriminately must stop. We can not continue with this habit of creating the firth and then clean it latter.”
The Okyehene, who is widely acclaimed as Ghana's foremost environmentalist, said efforts at eradicating malaria and its effects would come to nothing if individuals do not embrace clean environmental practices.
Over the past two decades, increased economic activities, population growth and rapid urbanization have led to an increase in waste in Ghana. Such development has made it extremely difficult for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to generate resources to tackle waste in the country.
Waste managers claim financial and capacity constraints account for their inability to find sustainable solutions to the growing water and sanitation problems.
Source: D-Guide
