Dealing with the filth on our beaches
Simply put, filth can be described as any substance considered as unpleasant, unclean and/or unwanted. Such unclean things could be waste matter, dirt, grease or any other unused and unwanted material.
Filth has lived with us for quite some time now; to the extent that beaches which are supposed to be serene, clean and healthy are packed with heaps of rubbish. In fact besides the exclusive residential areas, the environment you see around our beaches and homes is marked by filth and unsightly rubbish heaps.
Households without toilet facilities are a common phenomenon in the local communities. It is an ordinary scenario to often hear complaints from tenants to their landlords to provide them with toilet facilities but all to no avail.
People therefore continue to defecate on the beaches and open spaces within the city which makes the environment both untidy and unhealthy. Charity, they say, begins at home and cleanliness is also next to Godliness. It would therefore be in the interest of all if Ghanaians stopped the attitude of dropping filth on the streets and the already polluted beaches.
A visit to the “Borla”, Mighty and the Labadi beaches for example would provide enough evidence to buttress this point. Ghanaians are expected to know better about the implications of unsanitary conditions as they throw litter anywhere even when dust bins are available.
People throw rubbish anywhere and turn around to point fingers at others as those who are responsible to clean up the mess. We continue to throw more rubbish onto our beaches and forget we would come back on another occasion to swim and have fun on those same facilities.
Occasionally, arguments and complains can be heard from tourists, blaming Ghanaians for being untidy and not keeping a clean environment. So by continuous dumping of refuse indiscriminately we kill our own tourist attraction with our bad behavior and attitudes.
It behoves on the sub-metro agencies responsible for sanitation in the cities and local communities to sit up and innovative plans to get rid of filth in our homes and on the beaches.
Ghana Tourist Board (GTB) seems to be cold on the issue of beach sanitation, knowing well that clean environment especially along the beach resorts offers an advantage in tourist attraction and the general well-being of residents of the cities, towns and villages.
In terms of efforts to curb the ongoing beach pollution, it is very important for the local communities, especially those along the shores to concentrate on individual action. Meaning that individuals, especially those who use the beaches, have a key role to play in keeping those areas clean.
For those who stay around the peripheries of the beach the least said about their efforts to control the situation the better. They sit and watch aloof for the situation to continue and even sometimes contribute to the creation of the refuse.
Let everyone stay awake and ensure that the beaches are kept clean so we can all enjoy the serene, healthy and attractive atmosphere.
Author: Gifty Osei-Ampadu
Source: GNA