The Tamale Metropolitan Chief Executive (MCE), Hon. Sule Salifu has lamented over poor sanitation in the Metropolis. He made these remarks on the occasion of the first (1st) ordinary meeting of the fourth (4th) session of the eighth (8th) Assembly on Wednesday, 7th June, 2023.
“Hon. Presiding Member, ladies and gentlemen, concerns of poor sanitation and unhygienic practices continue to be preeminent and an enormous challenge in the Metropolis. Several communities and public places are engulfed in filth which poses a health hazard to us all. On a larger scale, this has affected, befitting status that the Metropolis deserves as one of the fastest growing City and recommended places of settlement”, he revealed.
He said the behavioral approaches towards sanitation and hygiene was making it almost impossible to reach the targets, or succeed in the “City-wide Sanitation Plan”, which was launched by the Assembly last year, with the aim of addressing poor hygienic and sanitation challenges.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, the Assembly continues to sink a large chunk of our limited funds and resources into refuse evacuation and the management of sanitation, at the expense of other critical sectors like education, health and local economic development”, he further stated.
Hon. Sule Salifu seized the opportunity to solicit the support and cooperation of Hon. Assembly Members to revisit the operationalization of the “Pay as You Dump” policy. Sighting that, successes of this policy has been chalked in some communities and it is his belief that it can be emulated within the whole metropolis.
He called on all to help sensitize the general public to buy into the idea to improve sanitation and also spare the Assembly more funds for other developmental activities.
On his part, the Presiding Member for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Hon Abubakari Issah thanked all stakeholders and Assembly Members for their cooperation. He encouraged them to continue to work in unity, in order to succeed in areas including; streetism, drug or substance abuse, teenage pregnancy, unapproved constructions, etc.
*Source: The Voiceless Media*
