A Senior Research Scientist, Institute of Industrial Research, Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR-IIR) Dr. Richard Bayitse is calling on Ghanaians to develop the attitude of keeping water stored in containers clean for drinking and cooking.
According to him, it is very disturbing how some Ghanaians do not know how to keep their containers clean.
Speaking exclusively to Thinknewsonline.com at the recirculate experience sharing and knowledge exchange forum in Accra, he said "What we have found out basically is that; hygienically, people do not keep their containers clean in their environments where they store water, so within the last 100 metres where they fetch and use water, that is where most of the contamination is"
"Ghana Water Company's water is good based on our assessments and there is no problem with it but it is where the people use the water, that is where it is contaminated"
Dr. Bayitse also mentioned that a fecal coliform, one of the key indicators used by his outfit also revealed that people are not keeping water in their homes are not kept hygienically.
"It is very important for scientists to work with communities and we don't need to set our own agendas in the lab and impose it on the community, so we need to work with the community. This project has really taught us that. The community people are able to give us exactly what they need and together, we will resolve the problem"
Dr. Bayitse mentioned that the project which ended in March, 2022 helped in solving the sanitation problems for some communities and also developed a technology that use less water in planting of food.
Sharing his thoughts on the provision of toilet facilities beneficiary community, he said "The community must be able to take care of the toilet that has been provided for them. They have to keep the toilet facility clean and also make sure that they dislodge toilets from the septic tanks as often as they could and they should desist from pumping fecal materials into drains in their community"
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Samuel Dotse said "Waste is a valuable resource that when is properly managed, it provides jobs, it provides money, opportunities for citizen"
He commended some muslim school for accepting the bio-digestor and actively allowing their children to be involved in the implementation of the project.
"This country is what we have. In the wisdom of God, he left some places to be waterlogged, some places to be dry and others forest. We cannot be wiser than nature"
"Each normal human being needs four grown trees to provide oxygen for a year, so if we destroy the environment, we are destroying our own lives"
He took a swipe on person who build on waterways saying such behaviours are unacceptable.
"Nobody in his right sense of mind will go to toilet and leave it in his bedroom or peel cassava or yam and plantain and dump it in his or her room. It is sad that we are treating the environment like it is not important"
"If we don't change our attitudes, it will affect us in future"
Anthony N-yelkabong, Lancaster University Ghana appealed to Ghanaians to desist from making filthy.
He called on Ghanaians to come together to fight against waste-making.
He also charged leaders of various communities to strengthen their by-laws to punish persons who make filthy.
Anthony N-yelkabong further called for incentives to be given to people who clean their environments, this he believes will motivate others to emulate and make their surroundings clean.
He also tasked community leaders to punish offenders to serve as a warning to all.
The Recirculate is a £7 million project funded by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) through the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF)in seven (7) African countries.
Recirculate is one of 37 projects funded under a call entitled 'Growing research capability to meet the challenges faced by developing countries' which began in October 2017 and ended in 2022.
It is led by the Lancaster University Ghana in partnership with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Ghana.
Below are some videos and pictures:
Story by: Joshua Kwabena Smith
Comentarios