National Sanitation Day relaunched - Citizens urged to keep communities clean

President John Dramani Mahama has re-launched the National Sanitation Day, with a call for sustained and collective efforts to confront sanitation challenges head-on “to keep our cities and towns clean.”

To be observed nationwide on the first Saturday of every month, the initiative is part of the “Clean Up Ghana” agenda under the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs.

The first monthly cleanup exercise is set for October 4, this year, the first Saturday in October.

The President said the initiative was to foster a culture of environmental responsibility, improve public health and enhance the aesthetic beauty of cities and communities.

“The National Sanitation Day is a call to action; an opportunity for each of us, regardless of our political affiliation, social standing, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, to unite in keeping our surroundings clean,” President Mahama said at a well-attended event to launch the re-introduced National Sanitation Day (NSD) in Accra last Saturday.

He added: “The day signifies the importance of community ownership and collective responsibility in maintaining a healthy environment. This initiative will be driven by partnerships across government institutions, traditional authorities, religious bodies, community organisations, businesses, educational institutions and the public.”

Event

The event attracted traditional rulers, the clergy, ministers of state, development partners, environment and sanitation industry players, civil society organisations, students from Accra School of Hygiene, second cycle schools, among others.

The National Sanitation Day was first introduced in 2014 during the first term of President Mahama.

It was, however, abandoned after 2016 and replaced with the Green Ghana Day.

The government is re-introducing it under its native ministry, the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, to take care of the growing menace of insanitary conditions in many cities and communities.

Emphasis

President Mahama emphasised that environmental sanitation was fundamental to public health, the health of the citizenry, education and tourism

It was also one of the key drivers of sustainable socio-economic development of every country.

He said in spite of the country’s progress in environmental sanitation service delivery, challenges persisted as unsanitary conditions contributed to the spread of diseases and environmental degradation.

President Mahama, therefore, charged the citizenry to prioritise and address those issues with untiring resolve.

Referencing the previous National Sanitation Day between 2014 and 2016, he said that exercise demonstrated the immense potential of citizen-led efforts, as communities actively desilted gutters, cleared waste, and engaged in proper environmental sanitation practices.

“I urge all Ghanaians to come out in their numbers to help clean our surroundings, desilt the gutters and weed public spaces. Let us make this a nationwide habit that reflects our identity as environmentally conscious people,” he rallied the citizenry.

The President said that the National Sanitation Day was a non-partisan call to action for every Ghanaian, irrespective of political affiliation, social standing, ethnicity, or religious beliefs, to unite in keeping their surroundings clean.

Multi-faceted approach

The re-launched National Sanitation Day is designed to achieve a comprehensive set of goals.

Central to this is the promotion of public awareness and a stronger sense of ownership and shared responsibility among citizens, which will encourage community-led efforts. 

The initiative also aims to establish and sustain a culture of routine cleaning and maintenance of surroundings.

By doing so, it seeks to enhance the aesthetic beauty and pleasant environment in our cities and towns, thereby promoting national pride and responsible behaviour.

A core objective is to improve environmental sanitation and related hygiene practices to reduce disease outbreaks by breaking the cycle of transmission through effective waste management.

Ultimately, the efforts are expected to support economic development, as a cleaner country is better positioned to boost tourism and attract vital investment.

Renewed social contract

Echoing the President's sentiments, the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, described the National Sanitation Day as a "renewed social contract between government and citizens, anchored on accountability, enforcement, and sustainability."

He outlined three core objectives: restoring discipline and pride in public spaces, empowering local government structures with sanitation as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI), and fostering active citizen participation and accountability.

To bolster accountability, the ministry will establish a dedicated sanitation hotline for citizens to report public cleansing nuisances, a central dashboard to track assembly performance, and require monthly sanitation reports from all MMDAs.

Youth involvement

Both the President and the minister called on all stakeholders, including traditional and religious leaders, the media, civil society, and the private sector, to actively participate in the monthly exercise.

President Mahama specifically encouraged the youth to see the sanitation sector as a viable avenue for economic empowerment.
“I encourage our teeming young Ghanaians to take an active interest in developing entrepreneurship innovations around the current challenges of waste management facing our country,” he said.

Bus Stop Boys

The President commended a group of young volunteers known as the “Bus Stop Boys” for its outstanding commitment to environmental cleanliness, describing the members as exemplary citizens whose efforts deserved national recognition.

President Mahama donated a number of items to aid the work of the group and encouraged others to also offer their support.

The items included 200 wheelbarrows, 300 shovels, 300 brooms, 300 hand gloves, 280 standing brushes, 20 short brushes, 300 plastic buckets and a tricycle.

The government has urged all Ghanaians to come out in their numbers on the first Saturday of October to desilt gutters, clear waste and weed public spaces to build a cleaner, healthier and more prosperous Ghana.