Kumasi, Sept 13, GNA-The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) has embarked upon a major public education drive to sensitise residents of the metropolis on the need to play their part to ensure a higher level of environmental cleanliness in the city. As part of the drive, the assembly has printed over 20,000 copies of flyers titled "KMA Community Alert" on sanitation detailing some of the laws and bye-laws which highlight the obligations of residents with regards to issues of environmental cleanliness.

A statement issued by the KMA on Monday on the flyers said they were being distributed free of charge through the sub-metros and the 24 Town Councils to residents, especially landlords, storeowners and kiosk keepers in the metropolis. The statement said lack of awareness and understanding of the sanitation regulations and bye-laws had created the wrong impression that when the frontage of houses and gutters are choked with filth, it is the duty of the assembly to clear such mess.

"While the assembly is doing the best it can to rid the city of the almost 1,000 tons of solid waste generated daily in the metropolis at the cost of 1.2 billion cedis a month, it behoves on residents to also play their part by ensuring that dumping of refuse at unauthorised places and littering in general are avoided". The statement said a cleaner city would attract more business and tourists and ultimately lead to a significant reduction in our medical expenses due to the possibility of lower incidence of diseases such as malaria.

It said this could be achieved if residents will assist the assembly to ensure collective compliance and enforcement of the basic requirements of the sanitation laws of the country and also embrace new sanitation policies and programmes such as the house-to-house refuse collection scheme". Such compliance, the statement said, will also save the assembly and the government some of the monthly money spent on managing solid waste in the metropolis for the execution of other social projects.