The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, has declared war against poor sanitation in the region.
He said the declaration follows recent outbreak of cholera in parts of the region, and the health threats being posed by the situation.
Addressing Coordinating Directors of the various Assemblies on Monday 17th February 2025, during their maiden meeting, he challenged them to redeem the image of the Western Region.
Consequently, he appealed to them to make the fight against poor sanitation a top priority. He said the recent outbreak of cholera in some parts of the region must have sent a strong signal to everyone that the fight against sanitation remains a collective responsibility.
He said the outbreak of cholera could not have been attributed to anything than the poor management of sanitation and hygiene in the region.
To this end, he warned all Coordinating Directors across the region to deal decisively with the institutions and companies managing waste in their respective areas.
“The institutions at the heart of managing waste must be cautioned ” he remarked.
Joseph Nelson said all the Assemblies must have adequate plans for sanitation management and work with these plans so that the lacuna created will be avoided. “You must have plans for sanitation” he emphasised.
He said under his administration as the Regional Minister, he will leave no stone unturned in dealing decisively with perpetrators of poor waste management in their respective areas.
“There will be little room for excesses in managing waste in the region,” he stressed.
The Regional Minister said under his watch, “it will not be business as usual.”
He said anything done outside the instructions offered, will certainly not be tolerated.
On the cholera outbreak he said it was regrettable that the region suffered casualties unjustifiably.
“You cannot disconnect how effectively you manage these issues and occurrence of this nature. Some lives have been lost ”
He announced plans to introduce Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) aside the national one to monitor the performance of all Coordinating Directors in their respective areas.
“It will relate to issues that confront the Assemblies” the Minister said.
He said services being offered by the Directors must be commensurate with expected standards. “Let’s keep our eyes on the ball. Your services must enrich the lives of the people.”
He called on the Assemblies, currently led by the Coordinating Directors to make judicious use of resources available and police all the institutions under them effectively.
Innocent Haligah, Coordinating Director of Sekondi Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) who spoke on behalf of the Coordinating Directors, acknowledged the responsibility placed on their shoulders by the Minister.
He told the Minister that the major challenge confronting the Assemblies in the fight against sanitation was lack of equipment.
He said virtually all the Assemblies in the region are facing sanitation challenges due to the aforementioned. “The bottom line has to do with sanitation equipment,”
He lauded the Minister for stepping up to the plate upon assumption of office and therefore pledged the cooperation of all Coordinating Directors to help his administration perform to the satisfaction of government.
