Editorial
Groom the youth to live responsible lives
The youth of today constitute an important asset in the sense that they are seen as the leaders of tomorrow who will take charge of affairs of the country to lift it to greater heights.
For this reason, they (the youth) must be groomed well and encouraged to live responsible lives.
Unfortunately, many of them live irresponsible lives as a result of indiscipline coupled with other factors.
Some youth have become indisciplined partly because of bad examples of their parents. These parents misbehave in society in the full glare of young people, so the youth easily become influenced in that way.
In addition to that, some of the young people also fall into bad company or bad peer groups. Such bad peer groups influence them to the point that they become disrespectful in society.
Irresponsible parenthood is another factor that influences many young people in society to become indisciplined. These parents neglect their children and do not spend quality time with them to change their lifestyles from negative to positive.
The issue of foreign films is also a factor that influences them negatively. This together with exposure to social media ends up changing their behaviour from good to bad.
As a result of all these, many young people of today have become indisciplined and do not respect the elders in society. Many of them take to hard drugs which worsen their conditions. Others also, that is the males among them, throw caution to the wind and flirt with their female counterparts to make them pregnant and perpetually rendering them dependent on society.
Furthermore, some of the youth resort to armed robbery to terrorise communities and make life difficult for the people.
To reverse this situation, good parental care is needed for all children through their teenage period and beyond, so that they can grow up to become responsible citizens.
Society must also use all means to influence young people of today to obey the laws of the country when they are in school, so that irresponsible behaviour such as the attacks on teachers and destraction of school property can stop.
School rules must be obeyed so that the young students will grow up to become responsible members of society. This is how the young ones can be influenced to turn away from acts of indiscipline to become responsible leaders for society.
It is our collective responsibility to ensure that these young people are advised from time to time to instill discipline in them.
The youth themselves must know that without discipline, they cannot make it in life and this is why we must keep to positive social values and do away with any forms of indiscipline in society.
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Dear Editor
I wish to draw attention to the increasing number of children begging for alms on the streets of the capital.
This has become a common sight at traffic lights, markets and busy intersections.
Many of these children should be in school, but instead they spend long hours under the hot sun and in dangerous traffic.
Sadly, they are sometimes found in the company of their parents, the same people expected to ensure that these minors spend those hours in school.
These children are usually exposed to accidents, exploitation and abuse. The situation does not only affects their future but also reflects poorly on our society.
I appeal to parents and guardians to take greater responsibility for their children.
I also urge the government, the Department of Social Welfare and other relevant agencies to intensify efforts to rescue these children, provide them with education and support their families where necessary.
I also wish to employ the ‘Samaritans’ who gives money to these children to also spend a few seconds to ask these children why they beg for alms on the street and not going to school.
Getting these children off the street must now be seen as a shared responsibility.
Every child deserves a safe home, quality education and the opportunity to achieve their full potential. By working together, we can reduce street begging and give these children a brighter future.
From Eugene Ampiaw,
Dansoman
In addition to the severe flooding that Accra is already experiencing a major sanitation crisis is imminent as the Kpone dump approaches closure.
Currently, there are now just two significant disposal sites in the area: the Adepa dumpsite in the Ga West Municipal Assembly, which is close to Amasaman, and the Kpone Waste Landfill.
Inquiries so far, revealed that the Kpone site is almost at capacity and will likely close in the next six months. As a result, waste is accumulating at local markets and municipal collection points throughout the capital.
The situation has been made worse by the recent terrible floods, and immediate action is required to prevent the impending crisis.
The fundamental issue is that accumulating uncollected waste during rainy seasons poses significant threats to public health, including the possibility of cholera, typhoid, and malaria outbreaks.
Subsequent investigations showed that the Kpone plant, which was initially built to manage 500 tonnes of waste per day, has been handling almost twice that much, shortening its lifespan.
Many towns’ waste collection operations have been badly impacted by this looming shutdown, and the fact that Accra has few disposal choices is even more disturbing.
Now, waste collection vehicles face abnormally long queues at the Kpone site, and residents complain that most of the tricycles, referred to as “Aboboyaa,” leave rubbish uncollected in residential and commercial areas.
Although the Zoompak waste transfer station was authorised by the government to reopen in order to help manage daily waste volumes, it is still unable to handle the enormous volumes of waste generated every day.
According to Dr. Peter Kwesi Dagadu, Managing Director of the Landfills Company Limited, managing the capital’s expanding waste burden has become extremely difficult due to the scarcity of disposal facilities, especially in light of the city’s fast population increase and rising waste production.
As a result, the situation has put a great deal of strain on the infrastructure already in place and jeopardizes attempts to keep Accra’s waste management system sustainable and effective.
The Spectator agrees with him that new infrastructure for disposing of waste is desperately needed, as a change to a more environmentally friendly waste management techniques.
It is admirable that he suggests Ghana adopt recycling and garbage recovery as a long-term solution to the nation’s sanitation problems.
We therefore, implore the government to support this recycling objective by enacting strict laws, regulations, investments, and enforcement measures to enhance waste management nationwide.
In order to address the waste problem as quickly as possible, everyone must be involved, including private waste management companies, individuals, and households.
