Environmental Health Officers in the Tamale Metropolis and Sagnarigu Municipality in the northern region have been empowered to enforce sanitations laws and the requisite knowledge to prosecute sanitation offenders in the greater Tamale area.
A total number of one hundred and fifty (150) sanitation officers drawn from the two assemblies with funding support from the Catholic Relief Services (CRS) were given a two-day capacity building training last Thursday, November 24, 2022.
Prosecution Officer for the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly, Mr. Seidu Mohammed Saani, in an interview said the training is an enforcement management capacity building workshop.
He explained to THE CUSTODIAN that enforcement management entails the process of taking the various households through engagements in terms of environmental health and sanitation and enforcing the various existing laws enshrined in the constitution of Ghana at the local communities across the zonal councils.
“So this training is to build the capacity of the officers to also form teams within the zonal councils within Tamale and the Sagnarigu area to make sure that we have frequent enforcement within the law courts. The law courts are designed to correct people because the issues of sanitation are becoming worse by the day.”
The Prosecution Officer added the environmental health department is collaborating with the law enforcement agencies such as Ghana Police Service and the Court systems to fashion out plans to fast truck prosecutions of sanitation offenders.
Poor sanitation results in disease outbreaks such cholera among others and the disease has remained an epidemic in Ghana since it was first reported in 1970. It estimated about 41,732 cases occur annually in the country with an average fatality case rate of 3.8 per cent.
Prosecutions
Mr. Mohammed Saani intimated the idea is also to roll out prosecution plans and gave an assurance sooner than later there would be a lot of prosecutions of sanitation offenders in the Greater Tamale Area.
He asserted issues of sanitation have become critical in the fastest developing city in West Africa such that the pace of growth and development is greatly affected and underscored the appropriateness of the training.
“We have seen the commitment the court systems have shown to us as prosecutors and we are hopeful that we are still going to have further engagements with them” he emphasized.
The Tamale Metro Prosecutor has however implored the public to cooperate with the field officers and not see them as enemies.
Precedents
He recounted in 2019 a number of prosecutions were done in the Tamale Metropolis and the Sagnarigu Municipal has also been proactive in recent times.
Mr. Mohammed Saani also acknowledged some challenges at the zonal councils but insisted they will not stop with their efforts to improve the situation.
He also reiterated the two-day empowerment training would enable the officers to push for the enforcement and continual prosecution of the recalcitrant landlords and tenants in the area.
Meanwhile, this effort will put the northern region and Ghana as a whole in the light of achieving the sustainable development goal 6 which talks about Clean Water and Sanitation as well as goal 3 which also promotes Good Health and Well-being by 2030.
