Ending Menstruation Poverty in Ghana by Empowering Females

 It is not the sole responsibility of the Government to tackle menstruation poverty. Government has its hands full. It needs partners from the private sector. A holistic approach will be empowering and addressing menstruation poverty whilst creating entrepreneurship skills for females.

This is a call to researchers, textiles and fashion designers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and female advocacy groups to join hands to explore local materials that can be utilized to manufacture quality, affordable sanitary towels/pads locally.

If you accept the call, leave your contact information here. It is an urgent call.

Help to end Menstruation Poverty in Ghana now!

Queen Elizabeth II: A Ruler of the Times

 

“Why is everyone talking about this lady?” My youthful in-law is awed by the huge impact of the death of Queen Elizabeth II in global news. I explained to her that the Queen had been hugely historical, coming from a stock that once controlled a quarter of the globe through imperial, colonial power, reduced to fourteen countries currently under her headship. The fascination increased as I explained the Queen’s oversight of the Commonwealth, through which the current independent states continuously receive diverse benefits from the former colonizer.

A mother and beneficiary of the Free Maternal Aid from Britain, the youngster quickly grasped my explanation that after gaining independence, the Queen’s country has continued to support Ghana in Grants and Aid. Indeed, the Commonwealth has heavily supported education among Ghanaians who study overseas. It supports not only learners, but the nucleus family as well, many of which beneficiaries refuse to return to the country to help, thereby, defeating the purpose of the Commonwealth Scholarship. 

The conversation also reminded me of a question that has nestled in my heart throughout my growing years and postcolonial studies. How did the Queen feel about those former colonies that fervently wrenched their independence from Britain but have not really managed their resources for economic autonomy, as they so boisterously claimed in pre-independence days? The uncertainty describing the period after independence as (post)colonial or postcolonial highlights the blur regarding the pastness of the past, in academia as in geo-politics. 

A more crucial question is how the former colonized have utilized their independence to further human interests. Most of African independence fighters promptly became local colonizers as soon as the foreign colonizer left. Contemporary Ghanaian society is smirched with layered forms of degradation in human rights. In many domestic spaces, young girls labelled “maid servants” are treated in dehumanizing ways. Rapacious Parents molest their children, even sell them into child labour. State structures established and paid to protect and improve human rights are nauseously intrepid, hence, focus strays from human to wealth. Betrayal from a foreigner does not cut as deep as betrayal from one’s own.

Therefore, in mourning the Queen of England, we also ponder on our responsibility and/or complicity in (mis)handling natural, infrastructural and human resources. Objective analyses of management of resource in pre-colonial, colonial and (post)colonial days would constitute effective guide. We should also seriously contemplate our failure in making education work to maximum benefits, the growing superficiality in fixating on certification instead of nurturing knowledge and skills which enable effective utilization of resources for genuine independence.

Honouring the Ruler

The globality of the mourning is itself a history, violent past, nations within the commonwealth fighting to localize state headship, notwithstanding. Indeed, through her quiet but gritty leadership, Queen Elizabeth II symbolized stability through tumultuous changing times. Respectfully, Ghana, India, others are flying their flags half-mast for a week. One national reported that Hong Kong has not mourned any of its past leaders in the heightened manner they are mourning the Queen.

Even in Belfast where the struggle to leave the UK is quite fierce, the statesman who proclaimed the Kinship of H.M Charles III eulogized the late Queen as “a lady who has contributed so much to the country, to the world, to the Commonwealth!” One state figure described her as “one of the threads that binds UK together”. A BBC reporter aptly summed public emotions as the Queens’s remains moved from Balmoral to Edinburg: “… a final display of devotion to the Queen”. Strolling in the Green Park was themed gratitude: “… the slow quiet walk through the park, the mood sombre and thankful”. Laying flowers, queuing on the street for a glimpse of King Charles III or Queen’s cortege emanated from the urge to “do something or go somewhere as a way of paying their respects”. Across the globe, people share “wonderful memories of a wonderful lady” and “… thank the Queen for her wonderful service”. My mother, belonging to the pre-independence generation, simply refers to her as "our original Queen". The do not knows should read for a glimpse of the complex colonial history that continuously shapes our present to avoid replication colonial patterns.

Dignifying the Dead

Queen Elizabeth II, a model of style and fashion decency, sitting posture and social interaction is also exemplifying socio-cultural decorum in death. She authored her funeral arrangement. The small cortege has impressed my in-law, compared with the large ones she often witnesses in Ghana.

“Sometimes, history unfolds quietly”, was how a reporter conceptualized the quiet weepy “river of people” from Balmoral through Aberdeen to Edinburg through to Buckingham Palace to Westminster.  Similar respectful silence greeted the pronouncement of the death of one Royal Majesty and the installation of another Royal Majesty in Welsh and Belfast. To the effective communicator, the respectful hallmarks the public’s genuine honour for the Queen. 

Funerals have become a major source of noise pollution and violent invasion of privacy in Ghana. Music blares from dawn to dust for burial and continues the following day, noise and revelry detracting heavily from solemn occasions. Valuable lessons of sombreness from the royal funeral.

The Queen understood and knew how to change with turbulent times. Her astuteness endowed her with grit and objectivity in duty. I join millions in paying respect to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a dynamic leader of the times.

Rectifying Menstrual Poverty: Educational Approach

 

As laudable as is the idea of setting a day aside annually to raise awareness of pertinent issues across communities, it dampens the heart that attention wanes after the day and everybody goes back to routine. New issues that crop up to complicate existing ones might not get the necessary attention until the year rounds up again. That is the sure path to regression. Maintaining the conversation on pertinent issues might expedite sustainable progress. It has rightly been stressed that menstruation poverty requires constant national dialogue. In the June 13, 2022 edition of the Daily Graphic, one Rebecca Kwei urged Ghanaians to maintain the conversation on menstruation.

In her September 23 article, Miss Ajoa Yeboah-Afari reiterated the call for continuous engagement on the topic in her Thoughts of a Native Daughter column in The Mirror. The writers approach the topic of menstruation poverty from different angles but converge on the theme of dropping import taxes on sanitary napkins to enhance affordability for all girls. They also advocate free distribution of period products to reduce girls’ school absenteeism.

Being a body function rooted in utmost female intimacy, the slightest concession on menstruation implies a violent disruption of privacy. Even in a girls’ dormitory, dressing under watchful eyes of other girls raised the self-consciousness of a girl in her cycle. Every girl knows her cycle, so quantity of pads sent to school matched the length of a term. However, the biological make-up could go whacky at will and create shortage for a girl. Even on those rare occasions, asking (a) closest friend(s) for supplementary pad was done unobtrusively. In retrospect, those were privileged situations in the 80s.

Soiling self remains a most embarrassing situation for a girl, even to traumatic dimensions. Therefore, the discussion on menstrual hygiene/health should be wrapped in a cloud of utmost sensitivity and respect, not be warped by mercenary motives. Help should neither be intrusive nor patronizing but rather epitomize affirmation of female dignity. Conversely, Girls need courage to own their menstruation to avert various forms of female degradation.

There have been several calls to government to reduce various taxes on imported sanitary materials to create equity in accessibility. Others advocate free distribution of pads. Some advocates will like a review of VAT on locally manufactured pads. Magnanimous points but some have potential to deepen the disturbing dependency psyche which remains the root of national retrogression.

Therefore, the conversation must also be driven by current, raving economic reality. Considering the high birth rate, high female numbers and the early commencing of menarche, sanitary material demand will maintain a constant rising curve. In such critical times of escalating national debt and inflation, is it realistic to feed a dependency culture around menstruation and hope for sustainability?

The role of Parents

Parental responsibility in handling menstruation poverty must never be glossed in targeted period conversations. Any agency involved in the advocacy must consistently prompt parents about their primary role in providing for their dependent daughters. The fact that their neglect has potential to hurl girls into the arms of unscrupulous males, with potential consequences of unwanted pregnancy and premature birth, which deepens family poverty ought to interest neglectful parents. The reasoning that it is less costly to provide menstruation materials for their girl children than have a whole human addition to the family should also never be spared such parents. Responsible childbirth should be harped.

NGOs and other menstrual hygiene advocacy groups could rope in the Social Welfare for collaboration to heighten parental education that providing menstrual material is part of the latter’s maintenance responsibility. Minors should be able to report parents who renege on that responsibility to the Social Welfare. There ought to be some gentle penalization, such as counselling or a fine to the tune one sanitary pack, for delinquent parents who compromise their daughters’ dignity. A sense of accountability also constitutes effective solution.

Ownership through education

The best support for girls is the one that helps them to take ownership of their menstruation, not one which emphasizes their poverty status. Weaning girls from the dependency mentality is also a crucial part of the solution. An NGO in Uganda helps girls to make reusable sanitary napkins. How about targeting that through Creative Arts and Social Skills subjects at the basic and secondary levels respectively in Ghana? Production materials could be explored through inter-disciplinary collaboration.

Exploring the current practical-based curriculum concept to teach lifelong skills in designing and producing sanitary napkins locally, by girls, would constitute the most sustainable form of empowerment. Such a move is arguably pragmatic: Government might be compelled by a struggling economy to uphold existing taxes on menstruation materials or put a cap on the period of tax freeze. Corporate bodies will always be motivated by profit, not by girl needs. If a cross-section of the neediest can be helped to self-produce sanitary napkins, it would not only dignify them but also set some of them on a possible career path. A do-it-yourself approach is a much viable option for exploration.

Finally, a Niche!

 

Finally, former President Mahama has found a common niche with President Akuffo-Addo, the IMF! However, Mr. Mahama considers Vice President (VP) Bawumia and Finance Minister (FM) Ofori-Atta failures, hence, unqualified for IMF negotiations (Graphic online, Jul - 02 – 2022). Mr. Mahama’s contempt is misplaced; credit precedes criticism.

The VP who has introduced digitization to Ghana, appreciably formalizing the economy, bringing much needed convenience and expedited services to Ghanaians, is not a failure. Similarly, the FM who has handled finance for six years, widening access to secondary education, who paid public service workers for the nine months they did not work during COVID-19 lockdown, fed numerous low-income earners, increasing public service wages alongside, cannot be a failure. He cautioned the TUC in early 2022 that the state could ill-afford the wage increase demand, since 60 % of the national funds go into salaries.

The duo that ingeniously rolled out the Nation Builders’ Corps concept, engaging a backlog of unemployed graduates, cannot be failures. The concept pushed into various sectors, a cross-section of graduates who could not be employed by the Mahama Administration, due to IMF employment freeze, because they received allowances, not salaries. The engaged experienced financial relief, received technological training and industrial experience.

Digitization has propelled a strong programme in Information Communication Technology for learners, especially girl education. Additionally, the VP has initiated a sophisticated entrepreneurship laboratory for (youth) skill acquisition, alongside short- and long-term skill development programme for various trades. Utilizing national funds for currency in human resource development is not a failure. Indeed, fiscal issues could have even been better handled, shortcomings contributing to current economic crisis, but that is a painful dent, not failure.

Mr. Mahama has more in common with President Akuffo-Addo than the former apparently realizes. When Mr. Mahama converted six polytechnics to technical universities (TUs) in 2016, he stressed the urgent need for competency-based training. Logically, his administration supplied industrial equipment and machinery for practical instruction.

However, his grave error remains neglecting to engage grassroot polytechnic stakeholders to ascertain impediments to hands-on training. Else, he would have realized the endangered status of hands-on training due to systemic marginalization of technicians. The polytechnic system had failed to develop a career path for technicians. Consequently, they divert for progression. Though TUs received machinery and equipment, persistent scarcity in technicians obstructs the nurturing of competent graduates for industry.

If the TUs had fulfilled the mandate for competency-based training, President Akuffo-Addo’s policy of One-District: One Factory could have been smoothly rolled out, strengthening national manufacturing base. A competitive manufacturing sector could have strengthened the Cedi, improved sustainable employment, opened avenues for new joblines and commodity export, which might have improved the nation’s GDP and effectively hold the IMF at bay.

To wit, policies initiated by the Executive must be rolled out by stakeholders – public, private and consumers. Stakeholder profligacy implies that excellent policies, birthed by huge investments, remain dormant, and funds cannot be recouped. Sinking national coffers roll to the IMF. Which stakeholders are breathing fire on the Vice President and Finance Minister, which torch is being branded by Mr. Mahama? Ironically, the IMF believes in the country’s leadership (Daily Graphic Jul.7, p.22).

Common Fault

One major governance drawback of both Mr. Mahama and President Akuffo-Addo has been their failure to operate meritocracy. Consequently, sycophancy has smeared both regimes, yielding, in Senyo Hosi’s candid summary, “PR stunts filled with untruths, financial malpractices and sub-optimal governance just to sustain personal interests and footsoldier fleeces.”  (Jul - 06 – 2022, graphic online).

Excellent pragmatic policies have been initiated in the past six years, but a saturated environment of nepotism, indolence, opportunism and wastefulness, rapidly erodes the impact. The human capital needed to bolster the economy for innovation, mostly, believe they are entitled to wealth and privilege, alarmingly missing the willpower that propels societal progress. Such sing, pray and boast whilst Ghana regresses.

Synergy
Synergy might salvage not only the economy but Ghanaian dignity. The constant dancing with IMF implies – in the Akan language – akͻhwisεm (national) wastefulness, an abhorring reputation, as Miss Elizabeth Ohene has so succinctly captured it (Jul 6, 2022 Daily Graphic).

Shirking repulsive materialism, regressive debates, fanatism for diligence is required. Halting the commercializing of education for human capital is necessary. Pursuing quality education to impact the intellect for astuteness would refine. Human capital with emotional intelligence, a high sense of moderation and duty, plus community sense, could halt the wasteful attitude.

The nation has enough for everybody’s needs but not enough for the majority greed. Choices and consequences! Assertiveness spirit, commitment, perseverance, good humour, diligence might make us commit to humans, not vain wealth. Discipline, fenced by moderation and conscientiousness, might aid us to bid eternal farewell to the IMF at no. 18.

 

Joseph Mgimba: Inspiration for the Industrious

 

Heard of Mgimba? He is the Ugandan man who has made a fortune selling cockroaches to China. He discovered this peculiar culinary habit of the Chinese – fried cockroach stew – and started growing cockroaches. Neighbours who observed him harvesting thousands of cockroaches poured scorn on his endeavour. Now a millionaire, Mgimba was interviewed on BBC recently. A word to Ken Ofori-Atta and the boss of the Ghana Export Promotion Centre is enough.

That was a PS to the columnist Enimil Ashon’s article in the June 24^th, 2022 edition of the Daily Graphic. Researching Joseph Mgimba yielded a short article affirming that “he trains and sells cockroaches for a living”. I perceive three significant implications in Mgimba’s story:

 

Acumen at Work

That some unprogressive Chinese have descended on Africa like hungry scavengers is evident from their participation in illegal mining, culminating in the destruction of potable water and affable lands – Ghana. In some African countries, unscrupulous Chinese are spearheading donkey poaching, having desecrated the elephant species for ivory. Thanks to conniving, unethical indigenous businesses, Chinese junk goods have flooded the Ghanaian market, with deplorable implications.

Amidst skewed business relationships, Joseph Mgimba symbolizes a hand of industrial competition. For a change, Chinese money is coming to Africa, not as a soft loan but as revenue earned through African ingenuity. An indigene, evidently astute, has successfully studied the Chinese eating habit to set up a thriving culinary business with that community, thus, making complete nonsense of that individual Chinese bigot’s ignorant claim in Malawi that Africans have low IQ. On the contrary, Africans can be just as industrious as the Chinese, but we are respectful.

Lessons from Mgimba

Joseph Mgimba’s novelty must not remain an isolated case. Africans have been streaming to China for higher studies in recent times, most returning with terminal degrees. If they exercised Mgimba’s kind of astuteness, a cross-section of African industry would be servicing Chinese needs. Then, we could gradually balance the investment scales through acquired knowledge and skill application.  It is never too late though.

Enimil Ashon threw Mgimba’s novelty at the court of the Finance Minister and Director of Ghana Export Promotion Centre, but he should have cast the net farther. In fact, he should have forcefully hurled the inspiring story and implications at the teeming unemployed. This diligent, shrewd Malawian is cashing in on a needy situation, a business gap, ready to get his hands dirty, as opposed to many unemployed Ghanaians, especially, the youth, forever waiting for government to employ them, so that they can get all dressed up and go sit in an office.

Look, the Industrious Mgimba                                                                                          
Consider Mgimba’s courage in convincing himself to commence his unusual business. Imagine the effort it must have cost him to go on tedious rounds, first acquainting Malawian neighbours, friends and families, even strangers, of his weird concept, probably informing them of his plan to collect cockroaches from their not so clean spaces. Imagine the thousands of hours he must have spent on his rounds, detecting and strategizing to catch the slippery insects alive. Consider the creativity it must require to breed/train cockroaches, feed them and ensure their safety in enclosed spaces, considering that they are free rangers.

Imagine Mgimba’s tenacity in defying neighbours' scorn in relentless pursuit of his business target. Imagine the resilience he mustered to convince himself of his sanity and business potential, and one would sadly realize that those are the very qualities lacking in many unemployed Ghanaians, especially the youth, who glorify riches but abhor diligence. One sad consequence of the current propensity of many contemporary Ghanaian to get rich quick is that they would never experience Mgimba’s sense of achievement, which endows an individual with the most glorious and dignifying feeling, emanating from accomplishing an arduous task.

Conceiving an idea and strategizing to turn dream into reality remains a human triumph. Out of such daring dreamers come innovation and adaptability. Such ones have a keen sense of observation which drives them to smell opportunity from afar and muster courage to grab opportunity. Such do not wait for government or connections to offer them unmerited jobs. Rather, they study for adaptable skills and explore opportunities. Joseph Mgimba is worthy of emulation, because he epitomizes determination.

The good news is that the knowledge and entrepreneurial skills Mgimba needed to propel him to his current position are within reach of young and old. Through the Skills Development programme run by vocational centres, technical institutes, NVTI and technical universities in Ghana, literates as well as illiterates can access flexible 21st Century vocational training for sustainable, innovative and adaptable job creation competence. For the truly determined, the target is the globe, not China, but the price is hard work

Leadership in Ghana: A Concept in Crisis

 

During one community elections, three young adults visited me; we had the exchange below:

Would-be-contestant: I want to contest the … position; what advice do you have for me?

Me: You should have told me that you have identified this or these challenges, which you plan to help your community with, so what is your plan?

All three people: No one spoke; they just stared at me. (I realized that they had no plan and were clueless about leadership.)

Me: You go, look around and identify one or two major challenges. Brainstorm ideas and come back and share with me. I will advise as necessary. (They never came back, so I thought they had given up.)

I was away on the day of election but returned to meet the celebration. I almost swooned when I saw the community leader elected – the non-starter who had sought my advice. I had not realized that the position in question was the topmost one.

My enquiries revealed that the election had been purely territorial, not about qualities or vision. Voters were just happy to vote for someone from their side of community. Logically, the community lost in so many ways under that visionless leadership. Upon serious reflection, it hit me that many Ghanaians leaders are clueless about leadership.

One course I thoroughly and absolutely enjoyed teaching was Executive Communication, part of a professional programme at NIIT. I loved the course for its rich content and broad treatment of the concept of leadership. Learners were helped to understand that leadership is not about a person but about qualities such as loyalty, courage, commitment, determination, integrity, enthusiasm, empathy, vision, collaboration, humility and initiative, to name these. Leadership is about protecting and preserving national legacies and natural resources for all generations.

Leadership is about possessing a vision which others might not even begin to contemplate and having the knowledge and willpower to translate the vision into achievable goals that ordinary citizens can pursue for progress, obstacles notwithstanding. Leadership is the ability to mobilize human resources and motivate them to utilize natural and other resources effectively for sustainable benefits. Leadership is harnessing available human energies to maximize community efforts and productivity. A leader who can do that must be an empathetic listener, read vigorously and analytically, critically observe others and collaborate respectfully, speak to create harmony in order to persuade others to act. A true leader strives for excellence, so leadership is service.

Indeed, leadership is hard work, which begins after the contest is won. Again, upon reflection, I realized that it is the opposite in Ghana. Here, one works hard during election campaign to mobilize supporters who can convince people to vote for a contestant, because s/he might be rhetorical or good looking or belong to a geographical area or possesses wealth. Once a contestant jumps the election hurdle successfully, s/he can relax, enjoy hefty service conditions, feed close associates and let the system run itself down. Merely being elected earns one a title of good deed, whereas in other communities, a leaders must excel to earn a title. Since election success is a reward in Ghana, what else is left to motivate a leader to work hard.

Leadership is not just about the leader but also about the people being led. Leaders can afford complacency when followers are satisfied with crumbs. The latter swallow lofty promises only to be shunned after elections. Often, the electorate complains of politicians who change their phone numbers after they have won an election. Instead of going to the people to mobilize them for fruitful works, the elected shun the electorate. Many a Ghanaian leader leaves fully air-conditioned official house for the official air-conditioned vehicle – leaves the air-condition on when they have to consult or shop enroute – works from air-conditioned office and back to the house, leadership in luxury. The beneficiary followers neither see nor hear nor speak evil.

Because many Ghanaians know and accept this warped sense of leadership, a true, innovative, determined, and assertive leader who collaborates, serves by putting community first and utilize resources effectively to pre-empt waste, becomes an adversary. That leader is derided rather than commended for loyalty and commitment. The constant reward for such committed leaders is painful isolation. Yet, such possess grit and maintain their focus on humanity. Though exhausted, they trudge on to protect citizens and national legacies, the combined strength of the committed few balancing the outrageous strength of the delinquents to keep nation going, setting precedent, and giving hope to the dedicated few.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Organic Concept in Agriculture: Broadening Perspectives

 

On Wednesday, May 25, 2022, the Agriculture Minister spoke about the high cost of inorganic fertilizers vis-a-vis Government’s constrained purse. He shared that the Ministry is considering organic compost as alternate, stressing financial potential: Organic products have significant market advantage over inorganic ones and enjoy better patronage in Europe. Organic composting is a welcoming idea since a lot of food exported from Ghana fail to meet safety standards of Europe due to overly concentration of chemicals.

In rolling out such ideas, governments usually rely on research institutions and industry. Logically, the Minister mentioned Zoomlion, which is running a compost Plant in the Greater-Accra Region. Other regions have also initiated the concept, so it is appropriate that the Ministry would adapt current practices to solve emerging problems. A media person sought the reaction of a compost expert from Zoomlion.

In a typical Ghanaian fashion, the expert readily enumerated the challenging factors of the plan. He mentioned that composting is capital intensive, and it is not feasible to get the amount of biodegradable waste required for such high amounts of compost. He concluded that the Government must find means to keep importing inorganic fertilizer. Indeed, the Minister had only implied a reduction in patronage.

The Bigger Picture

A more enthusiastic expert would have perceived immediately the numerous benefits that his company stands to gain from the idea, the basic being increased production, which would entrench his own employment and position. Zoomlion would engage more hands to staff the regional branches that would necessarily emerge to feed the grassroots, thus, reduce unemployment. Demand for compost would rise, and higher sales might translate into better remuneration.

Additionally, a national organic compost programme would promote safe and effective waste management. Research has revealed that 60-65 % of waste generated in Ghana is biodegradable, some placing it at 70 %. To wit, with innovative and effective mobilization skills, Zoomlion could ensure a sustainable, frugal supply of waste materials throughout the year. Best of all, such a plan would reduce by the same amount the mountains of waste besieging our communities.  

The primary step in plan implementation would be a national orientation in layered waste segregation to aid systematic composting. Inevitably, knowledge in composting would spill over to vermicomposting, sensitizing children and youth to different faces of agriculture. Organic composting would promote best gardening practices, nurture topsoil to yield healthy food products for gardeners, possibly increasing knowledge and interest in agriculture.

If the Government initiated the plan and Zoomlion became a leading stakeholder, the company would stand a great opportunity in securing international collaboration. South Africa, Australia, UK, Europe and the US have developed excelling organic waste management industries which yield tons of topnotch compost for domestic and export purposes. Established entities might collaborate with Zoomlion and other local companies to transform the agricultural and biodegradable waste sectors into sustainable manufacturing and income sources while enhancing food safety. Government could also invite such entities to establish in Ghana to boost local efforts.

Environmental Benefits  

The landfills across the country do not constitute just an eyesore but also degrade the environment. US Environmental Protection Agency affirmed in 2021 that landfills and other sources emit methane, a greenhouse gas which accounts for about 20 % of global emissions, trailing carbon dioxide. Complacent Ghanaians claim that waste generation in the country is not significant enough to contribute to global warming. Yet, China and Nigeria are among the eight countries responsible for all anthropogenic methane emission. Considering the flooding of Chinese manufacturing, operations of Nigerian entrepreneurs, and proliferating landfills in Ghana, methane recovery is a necessity.

A collaboration with foreign organic waste entities would likely include technologies for methane recovery for profitable energy utility. Again, such a move would imply creation of new job lines to reduce unemployment. Ironically, there is existing skill for methane recovery and utilization, but neither research institutions nor industry is harnessing such skills, wasting potential human resources. A compost programme could reverse the unacceptable situation.

A laudable idea, already yielding multiple benefits in other communities, has been conceived by the Ministry. Collaboration from research institutions and industry would, not only bloom the idea but also broaden the bases enough for grassroot participation. It is time experts applied acquired knowledge to solve community, national and global problems. Could they fulfil expectations?