Ghana must reclaim the values that kept our communities clean
The Chief of Staff, Mr Julius Debrah, has raised an important point that deserves more than the usual headlines and speeches.
He has linked Ghana’s worsening sanitation situation and the persistent destruction caused by illegal mining, or galamsey, to the gradual erosion of our traditional values.
His observation may be uncomfortable, but it deserves serious consideration.
“We are now having issues with sanitation and struggling with galamsey because we have dropped our heritage,” Mr Debrah said at the Clean Conference in Accra.
The conference, held on the theme, “Assessing Ghana’s progress towards the UN SDGs,” brought together government officials, diplomats and civil society organisations to examine Ghana’s progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals.
The Ghanaian Times is of the view that while the sanitation crisis and galamsey have many complex causes, the decline of communal responsibility is certainly part of the problem.
There was a time when keeping the community clean was not regarded solely as the responsibility of a municipal assembly or a waste management company. It was a shared duty.
Traditional authorities played an important role in enforcing communal norms, and individuals understood that their actions affected the wider community.
That sense of collective responsibility appears to be weakening.
Today, people dump refuse into drains and water bodies, encroach on public spaces and pollute their surroundings, often expecting government or private companies to clean up afterwards.
In the case of galamsey, the consequences are even more devastating, with forests destroyed and water bodies polluted for short-term financial gain.
But we must be careful not to romanticise the past. Traditional practices alone cannot solve the modern sanitation and environmental problems confronting Ghana. Urbanisation, population growth, weak enforcement, inadequate waste management systems and economic pressures also contribute significantly to the crisis.
What the country needs is to recover the best of its traditional values and combine them with effective modern systems.
The comments by the Ga Mantse, Nii Teiko Tsuru II, are particularly relevant. In a speech read on his behalf, he recalled the importance historically attached by the Ga State to sanitation and communal responsibility. He called for stronger collaboration between traditional authorities, government and local communities.
This is an opportunity that must not be missed.
Traditional leaders have influence at the community level that government agencies sometimes struggle to exercise.
Chiefs can help educate their people, mobilise communities and reinforce responsible behaviour. But they must also be supported with the necessary resources and authority to play that role effectively.
The Government, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies, traditional authorities, religious organisations, schools and civil society must therefore work together to rebuild a culture of cleanliness and environmental responsibility.
The fight against galamsey also requires the same collective resolve. Enforcement is necessary, but it cannot be the only answer.
Ghanaians must understand that destroying a river or forest is not merely an environmental offence; it is an attack on the future of the country.
The German Ambassador to Ghana, Frederik Landshoft, made a useful point when he reminded stakeholders that Ghana’s natural resources belonged not only to the present generation but also to future generations.
That principle should guide our environmental policies and everyday conduct.
The Ghanaian Times therefore calls on the Government to make the restoration of positive traditional values part of its broader sanitation and environmental campaign.
The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, traditional councils and local assemblies should develop practical community-based programmes that revive communal clean-up traditions and environmental stewardship.
Schools must also play a central role. Young Ghanaians should be taught not only about sanitation but also about the responsibility that comes with belonging to a community.
Most importantly, citizens must take ownership. No government can provide enough cleaners, inspectors or security officers to monitor every street, drain, river and forest. A clean Ghana ultimately depends on the choices people make every day.
We cannot continue to destroy our environment and then blame government for failing to clean up the mess.
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