MAJOR CAUSES OF POOR SANITATION ALONG THE BEACH

 Taking a walk along the beach, relaxing or playing at the beach can be a real treat on a hot day. According to J.Aaron Hipp, the beach offers restorative benefits to the individual.  But then, how will one feel when one gets to the beach and finds the place uncomfortably dirty? It is really disturbing and the level of pollutioncan put one off from staying longer at that beach.

There are many causes of poor sanitation along the beach and I am more concerned about the various human activities that seek to tarnish the image of many beautiful beaches.values.I get extremely sad at the way we continue to deal with the situation of beach sanitation and its related problems. Defecating and throwing of rubbish and animals roaming about along the beach,I consider as the major causes of poor sanitation along the beach.

Most residents along the beach such as Bola beach and Jamestown beach lack public and household toilet facilities and the ones available are just few. It has therefore, become so common to see people using the beaches as a” place of convenience” which is not a good habit at all. A visit to the Gold Coast beach(bola beach) and the Jamestown beach as my target areas for my article revealed a very unpleasant sight of people of different ages and sex ona defecation spree and this reflects other beaches in Accra and in Ghana at large. Another scene took place as I tried to get information at Jamestown beach, a Good Samaritan cautioned me at the shore to be very careful before I step on faeces. This has made walking along some beaches a challenge, one has to watch out not to step on human faeces that are scatted all the over the place. Instead of one feeling a wonderful breeze at the beach rather, one is welcomed with a sharp stench; I call it “mixed feelings”. The disheartening part of this barbaric act is that, defecating along the beach is now open to the full glare of the public with boldness and comfort. Also, others defecate along the beach out of sheer stubbornness with flimsy excuses such as they cannot afford to pay a dime to use the toilet, to escape from bad odour, to avoid joining long queues and so forth which I deem it not tangible.

some residents defecating along the beach.

To the best of my knowledge, I will sincerely say the La Pleasure beach is the outstanding beach resort holding fast to its impeccable image as the leading pleasure resort in Accra and in Ghana at large. What do we see along other beaches? Many of the Accra beaches have lost their value centres of pleasure to filth. Some of the beaches such as Bola beach, Jamestown beach and Lavender hill serve as sites for dumping rubbish giving uncontrollable stench. The foul smell fills the air, making passers- by hold their nose. It is now common to find haphazard disposal of solid and liquid waste along beaches. A walk along Bola beach and Jamestown beach present a filthy environment of the beach, previously sandy, today covered with broken bottles, empty water sachet, poly bags,which sometimes contain human faeces and rotten items. The same people who pollute the beaches want good and healthy life yet forgetting their actions are the main causes of the outbreak of cholera, diarrhoea, and other death-defying diseases in Accra and other parts of the country.

liquid waste 

solid waste disposed in the sea

some residents disposing liquid waste into the sea.

Due to the rubbish dumped along the beach, it has paved way for animals to roam about the beach especially during the day. Cattles and other domestic animals are persistently seen munching their way through the rubbish to get something to feed on. These animals seen roaming about the beach is not the best and does not portray the atmospheric beauty of the beach and this can only be solved by avoiding the dumping of rubbish along the beaches. Attempts at improving the sanitation of dirty beaches in Accra and Ghana at large has failed mainly due to the inadequate infrastructure for waste management, inefficient waste management systems in place and the enormous volume of solid waste generated. It is therefore our civic responsibilities to maintain a good and healthy sanitation along the beach for a better Ghana now and forever.

Animal roaming about in search of food in the rubbish dumped along the beach

                            

SANITATION ALONG THE BEACH

SANITATION ALONG THE BEACH

Sanitation is simply the conditions and measures that promote good environment or the act of maintaining a clean environment. According to World Health Organization (WHO), sanitation refers to the maintenance of hygienic conditions, through services such as garbage collections and waste water disposal. Sanitation is a very broad topic but it is narrowed down to the homes and the cities. The beach also forms part of the environment. Studies have shown that natural environments like the beaches and the waterfront parks offer more restorative benefits to people than gyms, entertainment venues and the built urban environment.(J.A Aaron Hipp).

Ghana is graced with 540km of remarkable sandy coastline. Most of it is underdeveloped whereas only few are like private paradise waiting to be explored. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease and that is why Iam more concerned about the sanitary conditions along the beaches in Accra. There are many nice beaches in and around Accra and they include Labadi beach, la palm royal beach, Kokrobite beach, Bojo beach, Sakumono beach, Gold Coast beach popularly known as the Bola beach and Jamestown beach, just to mention few. Only few of beaches in Accra are seen to be attractive based on their effort to maintain good sanitation. Sanitary conditions along some beaches in Accra are awful. Among the beaches in Accra, I choose to discuss in my article is the Gold coast beach popularly called bola beach and the Jamestown beach to reflect other poor sanitary conditions along the beaches in Accra and in Ghana at large and not limited to only Bola beach and Jamestown beach.

Gold coast beach popularly known as Bola beach is located just behind the Independence Square adjacent to the seat of government –the Osu Castle. “ Bola” in Ga and Akan means rubbish so the name “bola” is self explanatory.  The name signifies the poor sanitation along that beach. At bola beach, people are seen openly contaminating the sea by illegally using the beach as a refuse site, using the place as a place of convenience, and many activities which seek to put the place in a bad state. These are mainly done by people who have no care for the environment and their own health. But then, why should a beach just behind our proud Independence Square lost its great name to bola beach? This shows how poor the sanitary condition of the Bola beach is. It is indeed a bad name and awful site that does not befit Accra and Ghana as a whole

Jamestown beach has a similar experience with Gold Coast beach (bola beach). Do you know the history behind Jamestown? If no then, let me give you a brief history of Jamestown. Tourists who are particularly interested in knowing the history of Accra will find Jamestown a good place to visit. Jamestown has originally been established back in the 17^th century and one of the historic treasures of Accra. It is a fishing community. Truly, my visit to Jamestown yesterday to gather information for my article proved that Jamestown is an intense section of Accra loaded with history such as the national monument of Usher Fort and James Fort . Jamestown is indeed the oldest area in Accra and steeped in both colonial history and local life.  Talking about the sanitary condition of Jamestown beach is very poor. Jamestown beach is in a sorry state. it is a pale shadow of its former self.  Information gathered showed that, toilet facilities are rare and residents are forced to use the beach as their place of convenience. Dumping refuse in the sea, animals roaming about the beach, among others. Seriously, the sanitary condition along Jamestown beach is an eye sore and needs immediate and appropriate attention.

All these poor sanitary conditions along the beaches bring about diseases that are detrimental to the health of the people leaving around the beaches, Accra and Ghana at large.  There are preventions, benefits and other positive measures that good sanitation along the beach can bring to the individual and the country at large. All these, hopefully, will be discussed in my subsequent posts on this topic for a better understanding.