EFFECTS OF POOR SANITATION ALONG THE BEACH

Lately much concern is given to the poor sanitary conditions of the cities, towns and homes leaving the sanitary condition of the beaches unattended to. Many sanitary conditions of our beaches are eyesores and a big shame as such.  Talking about the poor sanitation and dirt in Accra and Ghana at large is tantamount to talking about the poor sanitation of our beaches.“Charity they say begins at home”, if people can keep their homes clean,there wouldn't be any evolving Ghanaian drop-as you-go attitude that will lead to the high level of dirt in the beaches.We seem to lose our sense of virtue of keeping our beaches clean as we litter our beaches without a wince. The sense of community and self- help spirit has given way to an I- don’t care spirit. I keep asking myself if these people have ever once in their life considered the effects of poor sanitation along the beach? Sanitation goes with health and happiness and it is most at times associated with health hazards and we have heard a lot about on different occasions. Therefore, this article tends to remind Ghanaians about the effects of poor sanitation along the beach

First and foremost, poor sanitation along the beach pollutes the environment and atmosphere and this inevitably leads to the outbreak of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, typhoid malaria and other perilous diseases which have claimed many precious lives of the past and still claiming the lives of many poor children and adults. And this goes along way to retard economic development since a lot of money is wasted by the government in treating these diseases yearly and I think we are paying dearly for our behavioural constraints.

 

Rubbish deposited along the coast leads to the outbreak of diseases

Another great effect of poor sanitation along the beach is loss of revenue to the state.  If Ghana wants to attract investors, world class brains, tourists, host international programmes and events then our beaches should be kept clean. One will ask what this has got to do with tourists, investors and the like. Tourism and the likes have a competitive advantage and a huge source of revenue which can be accrued from all beaches and not only Labadi beach and other few clean beaches in Accra and Ghana at large. Do you think a tourist will like to be at bola beach or James town beach when these beaches do not meet one of the essential catalysts- environmental cleanliness? Definitely, no. this has made so many beaches no go areas which could have be a good source of revenue to the state. But rather huge money is given out to organizations such as Zoom lion and Zoil to keep these places clean with no benefit to the state hence causing financial loss to the state.

Low patronage of beaches due to poor sanitary condition

Dirty beaches does not attract tourists

Finally, much of the liquid wastes deposited in the sea contain poisonous substances hence causing harm to the aquatic animals. Beach is not all about swimming and relaxing,on the other hand, some beaches are used for fishing expeditions such as the Jamestown beach. Therefore when these harmful liquid wastes get into the sea, it tends to make it dangerous for one to feed on the fishes from that sea. In addition to this,poisonous liquid wastes in the sea sometimes result in the death of fishes and other animals in the sea. A typical example is the recent incident at Jomoro district where a mysterious creature appeared on Asanta beach resulting in a disturbing stench which to pollutedthe atmosphere and a health threat to the residents along that beach and neighbouring towns.

Fish obtained from polluted sea is harmful to our health

In conclusion, as the saying goes “cleanliness is next to godliness” our beaches must be given good sanitation for a good health, accrue revenue to the state and attract tourists for economic development in the country to the betterment of all citizens. Ghanaians must revive the spirit of self- help since the government cannot clean all beaches in Accra and Ghana as a whole.