A team of health officials with the Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) in Accra has made public the intent to prosecute residents who refuse to clean their surroundings.

The announcement was made with regard to the low turnout of residents in the municipality for the National Sanitation Day exercise that took place last Saturday.

The officials were not impressed with the number of people who turned up for the event and stated, the assembly would start enforcing the assembly’s sanitation bye-law and would give stiff punishments to those who flouted regulations.

Last Saturday, residents of the South Electoral Area in Teshie Tsuibleo came together and undertook a four-hour clean-up exercise. They cleared the community of garbage and also cleared choked gutters.

Prosecution

An Assistant Public Health Engineer with LEKMA, Mr Yaw Adusei Boateng, said he was not happy with the low turnout.

He said the Sanitation Day should be used to clear garbage that had been collected in the area and clean up gutters to allow water to flow freely through them. He said the reason for cleaning the environment was to prevent outbreak of diseases.

He urged residents, therefore, to take the exercise more seriously, because soon “we will start prosecuting offenders”.

Reminder

A petty trader at Tsuibleo, Ms Rebecca Kokoi, said residents needed to be given constant reminders of the periods for the exercise.

She observed that many people were not aware that an event of that nature was taking place.

“It will be nice for the environmental health officers to keep reminding us of the event,” she said.