The Director of Public Health of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Florence Kuukyi has said sanitation is a collective responsibility for all citizens.

According to her, it is crucial for everyone to actively participate in ensuring cleanliness in their surroundings.

Her statement comes in response to recent complaints from residents and students calling for the desilting of the Korle Lagoon.

Mrs Kuukyi pointed out that while the government is actively involved in dredging and maintaining drainage systems along the Odor River and other internal waterways to prevent flooding, citizens also have a role to play.

She highlighted the importance of citizens engaging with accredited waste collection companies or local tricycle waste collectors to properly manage and dispose of their waste.

Speaking on the JoyNews AM Show, she said,“but they refuse to do that; people would heap refuse in their houses, and when it is raining, that is the time they would dispose of the refuse into the drain because they think the rain would wash it away, forgetting that you may be at the higher or upper stream, but you have a relative down stream, and that at the end of the day, everything comes back to square one.”.

Mrs Kuukyi highlighted that Ghana implemented a waste management system in 2002, mandating producers to take responsibility for their waste from creation to proper disposal. She emphasised that it is the responsibility of every waste producer to obtain a waste bin and identify the local waste collection services in their area.

According to Mrs Kuukyi, every district and zone is served by designated waste collection companies, with tricycles assigned to reach more inaccessible areas.

“It is the duty of the person who is creating the waste to ensure that I get somebody to give my waste to. That is why it is a criminal offense when you burn the waste or when you dispose of waste through the drain and an environmental officer gets you. You get to the courts, and if you are not lucky, you can end up in prison for not less than three months”.

The Director of Public Health at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) emphasised that sanitation and waste management require a joint effort from both the government and citizens.

She clarified that the government's responsibility includes securing services from accredited waste collection companies to ensure easy accessibility for residents.

“It is the duty of the government to ensure that there is a landfill somewhere that the accredited waste collection company can then dispose of properly.”