An Environmental Health Analyst, Mr Eric Cudjoe, says government must consider implementing a policy that would make it compulsory for inmates of the various prisons to be engaged as street cleaners.
This, he noted, would go a long way to assist the Environmental Health Department of the many Assemblies to effectively discharge their duties.
In an interaction with The Chronicle, Mr Cudjoe, who is the Asante Bekwai Municipal Environmental Health Analyst, disclosed that lack of labour was hindering their work. He said “Almost all the sanitary labourers at the various MMDAs have become ineffective as a result of old age, and this is a major challenge to us.”
He noted that the situation of their labourers being ineffective constituted a foremost burden which required urgent attention. “This is why I am calling for a policy that will ensure that prisoners, who are to serve in hard labour, can join us regularly in the field to help keep Ghana clean,” he added.
The role of the prisoner
Mr Cudjoe explained that they would basically assist in the de-silting of choked drains and gutters, and clear weeds in open spaces in public places.
“This will definitely help keep our environment clean, promote good hygiene, and improve the general well-being of the citizenry,” Mr Cudjoe clarified.
“Stagnant water mainly breeds mosquitoes, which gives us malaria, and we also spend a lot of money to fight the disease, so why don’t we put in measures to prevent it?” he quizzed.
Constant clearing of weeds and de-silting choked gutters, he said, would lead to a drastic reduction in mosquitoes, which thrived in unhealthy environments.
Mr Cudjoe appealed to the citizenry to view proper sanitation as a shared responsibility, with every individual having a role to play.
