In an interview with the Daily Graphic, he praised Mr Mohammed Adjei Sowah, the Accra MCE for causing those who caused insanitary conditions to be arrested and prosecuted and his Kumasi counterpart, Mr Osei Assibey Antwi, for his ‘operation keep Kumasi clean and green’ initiative, to restore the city to its former status as the Garden City of West Africa.

He said the Accra initiative should not only be sustained but extended to the coastal areas of the capital city, to make them clean and conducive for relaxation.

Open defecation

On open defecation, Nana Sarpong pointed out that there were nowhere in the world where open defecation and littering was encouraged.

He suggested that instead of cash fines as sanction for those arrested for littering and defecating openly, they should be made to clean the streets, drains and coastal areas for some months, depending on the gravity of their offences.

“The fines are not enough, Many should be employed to track those ­­­­­­­who litter, for them to clean areas they polluted for sometime as a way of maintaining the cleannesss of the environment,” he suggested.

He said while coastal areas in many countries were always clean and attractive for relaxation, those in the country are always filthy and, therefore, warding off tourists.

“Keeping the coastal areas very clean would attract investors who would develop such areas to create employment for the youth,” he said.

Nana Sarpong also expressed concern about the general poor sanitation situation in the cities and towns and its effects on health.

“We cannot allow residents to litter every part of Ghana with solid and liquid wastes in 24 hours each day and use just four hours to clean up. We cannot always spend the taxpayer’s money to clean the mess, while those who commit the act go scot free,” he stresssed.

Kyoto protocol

Nana Sarpong made reference to the Kyoto Protocol and said Ghana, being a signatory to it, should go by its tenets and principles, explaining that the Kyoto Protocol is emphatic that the polluter should always pay for his or her actions”

“ It is for this reason that I am commending Mr Adjei Sowah for arresting, prosecuting and sanctioning those who continue to litter.”

He charged other metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives to learn from their colleagues in Accra and Kumasi and help rid the country of filth.