Tamale, Sept 3, (Amankwa), GNA - Alhaji Iddrisu Adam, Chief Executive of the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, on Friday announced that the assembly spends about 50 million cedis monthly, on waste management. He said the Metropolis generated 180 tones of waste daily but due to inadequate supply of sanitary vehicles, the Assembly was able to collect 50 per cent of the waste.

Alhaji Adam who announced this at the Northern Regional launch of the "National Sanitation Week" in Tamale, under the theme: " Sanitation; essential for good health and higher productivity", said the Assembly had employed 132 people to clean the streets of the city, paying them 30 million cedis every month as wages and allowances.

The Ministry of Health is organizing the weeklong celebration, which was being sponsored by the UNICEF and the Northern Regional Coordinating Council.

Alhaji Adam said the Assembly had over the past two years, constructed 30 public toilets to improve sanitation in the Metropolis and that plans were far advanced to construct 11 additional ones. Mr Charles Bintim, Deputy Northern Regional Minister, who launched the programme said: " Though people who defecate and litter the environment indiscriminately should be rebuked, the Assemblies and the Ghana Private Road Transport Union and other organizations should also be equally blamed for not providing sanitary facilities at public places."

He urged the District Assemblies to enact byelaws on sanitation and ensure that they are strictly enforced.

Mr Bintim urged the people to join the fight against HIV/AIDS and advise the youth against pre-marital sex since the disease is acquired mainly through sex.

Mr Michael Forson, Programme Officer of UNICEF said out of the 800 million people living in Africa, 300 million of them lack adequate sanitation facilities, adding that the situation in Ghana was appalling with only 40 per cent of people living in the urban areas having safe sanitation and 13 per cent of the rural population having access to safe sanitation.