Koforidua, Sept 16, GNA-The New Juaben Municipal Assembly has, between January and September, spent 444 million cedis on sanitation related expenditure to ensure effective environmental sanitation in the municipality.

The Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Adjei Boateng, said under the HIPC Initiative, the Assembly had been able to buy five trucks and 10 roll-on-roll off containers that have been put at vantage points to check waste disposal in the municipality.

Launching this year's Municipal Sanitation Week at Koforidua, he expressed regret that as at September, monies collected from property rates was less than 200 million cedis and urged all property owners to pay their rates on time for the smooth development of the municipality. Nana Adjei Boateng said the problem of waste management would remain unsolved if left for the assembly alone to solve and called on stakeholders including zone councils, assembly members as well as voluntary groups and residents to join hands in keeping the municipality clean.

He also urged the people to revive the spirit of communal labour to ensure the sustainability of the New Juaben Municipal Special Sanitation Days that all electoral areas celebrate every Saturday before the Akwasidae observance.

The DCE warned the Sanitary Inspectors against taking bribe from residents arrested for unsanitary environment saying anyone caught would be severely disciplined.

The Municipal Environment Health Officer, Mr Francis Quist, said a lot of people in the municipality died of malaria due to the indiscriminate disposal of refuse which serve as breeding grounds for mosquitoes.

As part of the programme, three communities including Korle Nkwanta, Akwadum and Anlo Town, received awards as the cleanest communities during the second Local Government Week celebrated in April. They received wheelbarrows, shovels, pickaxes, rakes, gloves and Wellington boots.