The Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, has attributed Ghana’s growing sanitation challenges and the persistent menace of illegal mining, popularly known as galamsey, partly to the gradual erosion of the country’s traditional heritage and values.
He said Ghana’s current struggles with sanitation and environmental degradation were partly the result of Ghanaians abandoning traditional practices that promoted communal responsibility and respect for the environment.
“We are now having issues with sanitation and struggling with galamsey because we have dropped our heritage,” Mr Debrah said.
He made the statement in Accra on Friday at the Clean Conference, held on the theme: ‘Assessing Ghana’s Progress Towards the UN SDGs.’
The conference was organised against the backdrop of increasing pollution in the country and concerns about whether Ghana was on course to meet its commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
It brought together government officials, members of the diplomatic corps and civil society organisations working in the environmental sector to assess Ghana’s progress and challenges in achieving the SDGs.
Mr Debrah called for a renewed appreciation of Ghana’s cultural heritage and traditional values as part of efforts to address some of the country’s pressing social and environmental challenges.
According to him, traditional Ghanaian societies had systems that encouraged people to protect communal resources, keep their surroundings clean and respect the natural environment.
However, he said the gradual erosion of those values had contributed to attitudes that allowed environmental resources, including water bodies and forests, to be degraded.
Mr Debrah noted that the fight against galamsey could not be won solely through enforcement and government interventions but required a change in attitudes among citizens.
He, therefore, urged Ghanaians, particularly the younger generation, to reconnect with the country’s heritage and draw lessons from traditional practices that promoted environmental stewardship and social responsibility.
The Ga Mantse, Nii Teiko Tsuru II, in a speech read on his behalf, said the erosion of traditional values had contributed significantly to the country’s sanitation challenges.
He stressed the need for Ghanaians to return to cultural practices that promoted cleanliness and respect for communal spaces.
He said the Ga State had historically attached great importance to sanitation and communal responsibility, noting that traditional institutions could play a stronger role in educating communities and promoting practices that protected the environment.
Nii Teiko Tsuru II called for greater collaboration among traditional authorities, the Government and local communities to address the sanitation crisis.
He said chiefs must be empowered to support efforts aimed at keeping communities clean and protecting public spaces.
He further urged Ghanaians to reconnect with their cultural heritage and pass positive traditional values on to the younger generation, saying a return to those values would help build cleaner, more responsible and environmentally conscious communities.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Frederik Landshoft, said Ghana’s natural resources belonged not only to the present generation but also to future generations and called for stronger collective efforts to protect them.
He urged traditional leaders, religious bodies, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to support efforts to restore Ghana’s cultural values and make environmental protection a shared national responsibility.
BY BENEDICTA GYIMAAH FOLLEY
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