The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources has visited the Tema West Municipality as part of her tour of Districts in Ghana to assess how well Government’s policy on sanitation and water is adhered to.

Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah earlier in the day visited Kpone Katamanso, Ashaiman and Tema Metropolis to spread the message of basic hygienic practices as a means of keeping healthy and avoiding sicknesses that could affect productivity.

In an address during the visit on Tuesday at the European Market, Tema Community Two,, Madam Dapaah explained that her visit will also determine whether there were challenges with sanitation issues, and “whether we have to change strategic plan to make sure we achieve the vision that Accra and Ghana as a whole should be clean.”

Madam Dapaah observed that personal hygiene was very important in the life of the human because of the many blessings it brought.

“Washing of hands with soap and water was a very big component of personal hygiene; we teach our children to do that so they grow up in a healthy manner whilst adults also practice that to prevent diseases,” she stressed.

She informed that it was the purpose of her ministry to make sure water bodies were kept well, and therefore, “People shouldn’t build in our water ways, and dump refuse and garbage in our rivers; people shouldn’t encroach on lands earmarked for special projects, especially in the water and sanitation sector.”

The Minister hinted that the issue of rural urban migration was looming and that Ghana could not run away from the growth in the urban. population.

She therefore indicated that there was the need to prepare in advance to make sure that the nation was well placed to deal with sanitation and water issues that may come up.

“We need to provide more water for our people, so if we damage all our water bodies through ‘Galamsey,’ through unorthodox practices, we may not be able to meet this challenge adequately,” she added.

Madam Dapaah observed that Ghana was rich in surface water but human activities were destroying them, hinting that, “Even in the urban areas, there are rivers that run through, but most of them have been built upon, and that’s why there’s always flooding.”

The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) of Tema West, Mrs. Adwoa Amoako, addressing the issue of the 20,000 bins the Government of Ghana was providing for the districts across the nation, asked that everybody be responsible in putting rubbish in bins, and not to think that it was somebody’s responsibility to pick up rubbish they littered around.

“If you are not closer to a bin, keep your rubbish in your bag and drop them in bins when you get home,” she insisted.

In an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA) on the sidelines of the programme, Mrs. Amoako informed that Tema West was a high-class area and therefore the Municipality did not permit the building of toilets anywhere unless at public places like markets and lorry stations.

The MCE, therefore, asked Landlords and Ladies to make sure they had toilets in their facilities for tenants so that they did not resort to open defecation which was a menace the Ghana Government was fighting to eradicate.