In an effort to engage diverse stakeholders to gather input and create awareness on effective plastic waste management Members of the ECOWAS Parliament Joint Committee decolonized meeting on Friday, August 2, 2024 organized a community engagement at the Kojo Beedu Community Centre in Winneba, Ghana.
The engagement was strategically planned to ensure representation from various communities in the Effutu Municipality and stakeholder groups in a bid to foster an inclusive and collaborative approach to the fight against plastic pollution within the ECOWAS sub-region.
The engagement exercise provided a platform to solicit views and concerns of the citizenry around plastic pollution, its impact on the society, effective management practices, as well as challenges in implementing community policies in fighting the menace.
Addressing the meeting on the theme “Plastic Waste Management: Challenges in Implementing Community Policy and the Way Forward”, the Effutu Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Alhaji Zubairu Kassim stated that the chosen theme was one that every household could relate with and one that needed serious attention even though it has been neglected for far too long.
According to him, the impacts of plastic waste pollution are manifold, and include food security, economic, water safety, ecosystem with devastating impacts on fisheries, aquaculture, and tourism, especially in coastal communities.
He noted that the purpose of the community engagement forum was to bring together key stakeholders in the ECOWAS Sub-Region, Governments, Development Partners, and civil society, to enhance knowledge and share information on plastic pollution and effective Plastic Waste Management on the bloc.
The Effutu Municipal Chief Executive pledged the Assembly’s readiness to ensure the implementation of decision arising out of the discussions and contributions at the forum to aid in combatting the canker of plastic waste in the communities.
Hon. Alexander Afenyo- Markin, the third Deputy Speaker of the ECOWAS Parliament and leader of Ghana’s delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament, underscored the importance of the meeting in shaping regional policies and actions that could turn the tide against plastic pollution.
He intimated that the forum was an opportunity to showcase local initiatives, learn from the experiences of the country’s West African neighbours and implement solutions that could be replicated across the sub-region.
STORY BY: CHARLES BAAH ABOAGYE -ISD
Last modified: August 2, 2024
