First National Sanitation Day observed

Ghanaians throughout the country came out in their numbers to participate in the maiden edition of the National Sanitation Day that was marked last Saturday.

The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama; the Vice-President, Mr Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, political leaders, as well as traditional leaders, including the Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu ll, joined residents of cities, towns and villages to embark on the exercise. 

While the President provided the fillip for the clean-up exercise at Sogakope in the Volta Region, the Vice- President joined  residents of Accra for the exercise.

From 6 a.m. to 12 noon, virtually all commercial activities came to a standstill in the cities and towns, as many traders closed their shops and drivers parked their vehicles to either take part in the historic exercise or create opportunities for others to do so.

Using brooms, machetes, hoes, shovels, among other tools, the participants de-silted gutters, weeded overgrown bushes, and cleared refuse in their surroundings.

The exercise was initiated by President Mahama and spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development following an outbreak of cholera which has so far claimed about 200 lives out of about 10,000 reported cases. 

Cholera is largely caused by insanitary conditions.

At Sogakope, in a typical fashion of leading by example, the President spent some minutes with the people to clear rubbish at the main market before he proceeded to Anloga to join the people of Anlo to celebrate this year’s Hogbetsotso Festival, reports Kwame Asare Boadu

The presence of the President at the clean-up encouraged many others to participate in the exercise.

Address

Addressing the residents, the President urged the people to make sanitation a priority.

He said it was important for the people to rekindle the communal spirit that had virtually died out due to modernisation.

"Because of modernisation, our attitude has changed towards sanitation and the result is that we are beginning to live with a lot of filth," he said.

Mr Mahama said it was unacceptable that in the 21st century cholera should rear its head in the country and kill people when it was known that the disease arose as a result of insanitary conditions.

He urged the people to ensure that they kept clean surroundings to prevent the outbreak of cholera.

The President thanked the traditional rulers for their interest in the sanitation day and asked the people who could not participate in the first exercise to make themselves available during subsequent ones.

In Accra  Musah Yahaya Jafaru & Zainabu Issah report that Vice-President Amissah-Arthur urged Ghanaians to sustain the National Sanitation Day (NSD) clean-up exercise to rid the country of filth.

Speaking to journalists after joining residents of Kanda, Nima and Mamobi in Accra for the clean-up exercise, he said it was important for Ghanaians to come out in their numbers to participate in subsequent exercises.

He said the maintenance of a clean environment would prevent the spread of diseases such as cholera.

At the Kanda Estate Cluster of Schools, the Vice-President helped residents and some sanitation officers to collect refuse.

He was supported by some chiefs and opinion leaders from Nima, who actively participated in the clean-up exercise.

He interacted with the people undertaking the exercise at Nima and Mamobi and urged them to continue to show  commitment to the exercise.

Waste management companies, especially Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a leading waste and sanitation company, provided logistics and equipment for the exercise.

Media asked to support the exercise

The Vice-President lauded the active participation of the media in the exercise and urged them to sustain the enthusiasm displayed by people in the exercise.

During an inspection tour of some parts of Accra by the Vice President, scores of people, together with some sanitation workers, were spotted clearing refuse and de-silting drains.

In the Odododiodoo Constituency, the Member of Parliament (MP), Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, was seen leading the youth and members of the community to clear refuse and clear choked drains.

While the women cleared refuse in their various homes, elderly men, together with the youth, busily de-silted the drains. 

Young people were also supportive, as they aided in transporting refuse to refuse trucks.

At the National Theatre, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mr Alfred Okoe Vanderpuije, and the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr Julius Debrah, were seen clearing weeds and collecting refuse, while sanitation officers from Zoomlion fumigated the area.

At Madina, the MP for Abokobi-Madina, Alhaji Amadu Sorogho, together with the Municipal Chief Executive for La-Nkwantanang-Madina, Mr Franklin Anku, joined market women and members of the community to clean up the Madina Market and its surroundings, reports Severious Kale-Dery.

They tidied up the market and de-silted choked gutters, with the help of personnel from the Ghana National Fire Service, who used their fire engines to provide water to clean the gutters.

While the clean-up exercise was going on, some traders defied the order not to carry out commercial activities while the exercise was going on and displayed their wares.

The traders’ action infuriated the MP and the MCE, who ordered the items on display to be removed immediately.

Salomey Appiah reports that the Accra Regional Police Command joined in the clean-up exercise by deploying the various divisions in the region to clean public schools and markets in the region.

As early as 6 a.m. some of the police divisions began clearing choked gutters and sweeping the assigned schools and some markets in their environs.

While the Ministries Police Division cleaned the Kinbu Senior High School (SHS) and Tudu, the Osu Division cleaned the Osu Presby Cluster of Schools.

The Kpeshie Division cleaned the markets within Teshie and Nungua; the Odorkor Division cleaned the Odorgonno SHS, while the Madina Division joined forces with the local authorities to clean the Madina Market.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Public Relations Officer of the Accra Regional Police, Mrs Effia Tenge, indicated that the various divisions were directed to choose public schools in their vicinities to clean.

In the Ga Central municipality, the MCE, Mr Aristo Aryee, led some assembly members and residents to collect rubbish, weed bushes and clear choked gutters, report Charles Andoh & Ruth Ewurama Darkwah.

The exercise, which took place at areas such as Ablekuma, Palace Town, Santa Maria, Olebu, the Anyaa Market, Sowutuom and Israel, lasted almost five hours.

Participants who gladly joined the exercise swept the major roads and markets in the area, cleared bushy areas and de-silted gutters to improve drainage in the municipality.

Briefing the Daily Graphic at the end of the exercise, Mr Aryee said the municipality would ensure the strict enforcement of sanitation bye-laws.

At Adentan, the municipal assembly, led by the MCE, Mr Benjamin Angenu, and the MP, Mr Ashie Moore, joined business operators and residents to clean the area.  

Some residents, especially those occupying the SSNIT Flats, displayed poor attitude towards the exercise. 

Most of them stayed in their flats as the workers of the assembly undertook the exercise. 

The MCE expressed his disappointment at the low turnout and expressed the hope that the next exercise would see more residents getting involved.

Appeal by MCE

Mr Angenu, while interacting with some residents and business operators in the municipality, called on them to conduct themselves well, especially regarding the disposal and management of refuse. 

He also challenged them not to let the exercise be a nine-day wonder but that they should make it a continuous activity, so that the municipality would be rid of filth.