Solid waste management, Ghana

Ghana has witnessed a peaceful and smooth political transition lately. This positive change has also helped in creating a strategic environment which is favorable to economic and social progress. However, the thing which is ruining the perfect picture for Ghana is the problem of filth. At present, Ghana is suffering from serious environmental sanitation which has plagued the country. Without proper knowledge of sanitation the populaces of Ghana are only adding to owes.

Ghana is suffering from serious environmental sanitation which has plagued the country.

Solid waste disposal in Ghana is a grave cause of concern and the chief areas of problems are indiscriminate dumping, lack of fitting disposal sites, troubles with proper solid waste disposal due to deterioration of road ways and escalating traffic woes. There is also no substitute for transportation.

The escalating problem on solid waste management is due to various factors. Problems such as rapid urbanization, financial incompetence of local authorities lack of proper planning and management equipments for solid waste disposal have together escalated the already grave problem of solid waste disposal. Need of the hour is to execute proper disposal and management system.

The dying Peranakan culture

Singapore, Malacca and Penang have an amazing thing in common. That is the culturally vibrant community called The Chinese Peranakans. This community which is also known by the name of Baba community or the Straits Chinese community has a heritage dating back to the sixteenth century. ‘Peranakans’ implies ‘locally born or native’ and this term is applicable to anyone born in this part of the region. Along with the Chinese Peranakans there are also ‘Peranakan Jawi’, they are the people born in Arabs, ‘Peranakan Yahudi’ born in Jews and Ceti Peranakan, people born in Southern India whose mother tongue is Malay.

The Lifestyle of Perakanans

During the World War II and the Japanese Occupation (1942-1945), the Peranakan community had to face widespread destruction especially in Malay and Singapore. The war caused such irreparable damages to these communities that a large number of the populace fell into poverty and debt engulfed them. They had to sell off their landed properties in Malaya and Singapore to sustain their livelihood.

The future of Peranakan language and culture is at jeopardy at the present times. There are many threats to the Peranakan culture as rapid urbanization, modernization and westernization along with the mingling of non-Peranakan with the Peranakan through inter-marriage has continued to add as a threat to the subsistence of Peranakan culture. The Peranakan populace in Singapore and Malaysia is decreasing hastily. The young Peranakan populaces are ignorant of their rich culture. The sad part is that such a beautiful and rich culture is disappearing fast and we only hope we should not face such day when only reminiscence of the culture remain with us.