The Chairman/CEO of the National Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Commission (WASH), Ambassador Bobby Whitfield, has updated the public through the media on the nationwide inspection exercise of business houses, as well as government and private institutions in Liberia.
WASH Commission Chairman Whitfield, in a conversation with a cross-section of the Liberian media on Wednesday, April 14, 2021 at the Commission’s head office in Sinkor, Monrovia, said the inspection, which is meant for the public, government entities and private institutions, is to ensure compliance with regulations of the WASH sector.
Whitfield revealed that the inspection exercise will cover schools, ministries, public/private facilities, mineral water processing plants, business houses and restaurants, among others.
The inspection exercise, according to the WASH Commission top official, will cover several government and private facilities in all parts of Liberia, and those not in compliance with sanitation guidelines of the commission.
Already, he said, WASH Commission inspectors, clothed with the authority to ensure compliance of regulations and guidelines governing the WASH sector, have been dispatched across the country.
“The nationwide inspection exercise will help also in reducing burdens on the health sector and prevent waterborne diseases,” Whitfield narrated.
He explained that a couple of stop orders have been issued some institutions or business entities, which are said not to be cooperating with the WASH team of inspectors on the field or in defiance with the commission’s stipulated rules, guidelines and regulations set up to ensure a safe business, working and living environment in the nation state.
Whitfield further added that the inspection is pivotal in ensuring the enforcement of sanitation practices and adherence, including implementation of guidelines and regulations governing the WASH sector, for the betterment and safety of the citizenry.
The inspection posture, Whitfield indicated, is to checkmate business houses operating in the country and others which are in upright defiance of guidelines and regulations of the WASH sector. “This is not a witch-hunt or move intended to shutdown businesses or institutions concerned,” Whitfield disclosed.
According to WASH Commission boss, a water quality test will be carried out at all mineral water companies to ensure that products being produced are purified and safe for consumption by the public at large.
He said the WASH Commission, in keeping with its statutory mandate, is clothed with the task of closing down businesses and others in defiance of the Commission’s guidelines and as well impose fines on violators.
Whitfield at the same time is entreating all stakeholders of the WASH sector to begin to accord all inspectors from the commission due cooperation as they carry out their inspectorate duties across the country.
Concerning government ministries, businesses, schools, hospitals and mineral water-producing companies, restaurants and other agencies bent on refusing to allow the WASH Commission’s inspectorate team to inspect their facilities, he said, “The Commission, in furtherance of our mandate, will not hesitate to shut them down.”
Reiterating, the WASH Commission Chairman/CEO maintained, “We do not intend to close down any business or institution, whatsoever, but out to create an enabling business and working environment through thorough hygienic practices at all levels by ensuring that no one is let off the hook.”