General News of Sunday, 16 March 2003

Source: GNA

Filth at the borders gives bad image of Ghana

Mrs Sophia Dotse Boakye, President of Customs Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) Officers Wives Association (CEPSOWA) in Aflao on Saturday said the poor state of sanitation at the border gave a bad impression to visitors who enter the country through the Aflao border.

She said the situation was a health threat to all categories of workers at the border, hich is the Eastern Gateway of Ghana.

Mrs Boakye was speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) after leading 30 members of the (CEPSOWA) to undertake a three-hour clean-up at the border and its environs.

The members were from Akanu, Kpoglo, Havi and the Aflao, all under the Aflao Collection Point.

Areas cleaned included the Departure and Arrival Halls, the Tower Area, the long stretch of the arrival and departure gates, the border complex arena and offices of the Ministry of Trade.

Mrs Boakye said the exercise would be undertaken in all the other frontiers within the Sector on rotational basis and would be extended to public places such as the hospitals.

She urged CEPS Officers to encourage their wives to join the Association and hoped wives of CEPS Officers in other parts of the country would emulate the Aflao sector.

Mr Kow Amissah-Koomson, Assistant Commissioner of CEPS responsible for the Sector commended CEPSOWA for supporting their husbands and urged them to sustain the exercise.

He regretted that travellers through the frontier made promotion of sanitation difficult by throwing garbage anywhere.