Mr Stephen Asamoah Boateng, Minister for Local Government, Rural Development and Environment has stated that the Chemu lagoon and Odaw River both in Accra and Subin River in Kumasi are either dead or on the verge of dying because they were being used as final disposal sites for both solid and liquid waste. He said this was unfortunate because, while such natural resources were providing livelihood and foreign exchange in certain countries, the situation in Ghana was the direct opposite. Mr Asamoah-Boateng, said this, in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Naa Lenason Demedeme, Director of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit of the Ministry at the third biennial public lecture and photo exhibition organized by the Medical Students Association of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) at the great hall of the university in Kumasi on Friday. It was under the theme; “occupational health and the impact of industrial activity on public health”. Speaking on, “The return of the Tankas (sanitary inspectors)-implication on commercial and industrial activity”, Mr Asamoah-Boateng, said there was the need to preserve these natural resources for posterity. He said, “our present attitudes, behaviour and practices on sanitation was not only endangering our very survival but a threat to our ecosystem. We should, in our own small way try to keep our immediate surroundings clean at all times to prevent outbreak of diseases in our localities.” The Minister said though other environmental issues such as desertification, depletion of the ozone layer, air pollution and global warming were issues of concern to the Ministry, the poor sanitation in the cities and towns was raising a lot of public concern and outcry because that was directly effecting the immediate environment. He said it was in this connection that the recent realignment of the Ministries had brought the environmental sector including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to the ministry. He said the Ministry, in consultation with the National Transport Coordinating Council was working out modalities not only to stop littering at lorry stations, but also to control the reckless throwing of wastes into drains, water bodies and out of moving vehicles. Mr Asamoah-Boateng indicated that under this initiative, all commercial vehicles would be required to provide approved litter containers in their vehicles for passengers to drop their litter. He said the Ministry was also taking steps to ensure that all lorry parks, major roads in the cities, commercial areas and streets were provided with litter bins. GNA