Government is to put before Parliament a model sanitation legislation, to give legal backing to the numerous sanitation bye laws adopted by the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country.

Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, the Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, said government was ready to lay the “Model Sanitation Byelaw” before Parliament when it returns from recess.

Mr Vanderpuye announced this at a ground breaking ceremony for the construction of a GH?6.7 million, four-storey office complex for the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA).

He said when the legislation is put before Parliament and passed into law, it would help the MMDAs to enforce its byelaws on sanitation and give stiffer punishments to offenders.

He said with that, people who do not observe good sanitation practices, including defecating in the open and on beaches, littering, among other offences will be dealt with severely.

Mr Vanderpuye also gave the assurance that the Bye-law would also back efforts to improve sanitation in the country as it would serve as a deterrent to offenders.

The National Sanitation Day would also receive legal backing and sustainability when the Model Sanitation Byelaw is passed into law.

He added that when successfully passed, the law would also empower government to prosecute individuals who refused to take part in the National Sanitation Programmes.

The Deputy Minister explained that, the need for the legislation could not be over emphasized as some Ghanaians have refused to observe simple good sanitation practices.

He called on educational institutions, religious bodies and other organizations to use their platforms to educate the public on the need for behavioral change to keep the country clean for the benefit of all.

The National Sanitation Day, which is observed in Ghana on the first Saturday of every month, was declared on November 1, 2014, by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in response to the outbreak of the cholera disease in the country in 2014.