MMDCEs to face yearly rankings as Mahama ties leadership to sanitation performance

President John Dramani Mahama has declared sanitation a national emergency and announced that Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) will now be assessed based on how clean their districts are.

He announced on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, during the 2025 orientation programme for MMDCEs held in Accra.

According to Mr Mahama, sanitation will no longer be treated as a side issue but will form a core part of the Local Governance Performance Assessment.

He said assemblies will be ranked annually, with the cleanest district receiving recognition and the dirtiest district exposed to public scrutiny.

“Your districts will be ranked annually. The cleanest district will be celebrated. The dirtiest district will be shamed,” he told the gathering.

The president urged assemblies to adopt localised, citizen-driven strategies by working with traditional leaders, churches, schools, market associations and civil society to organise clean-up campaigns, inspections and public education.

He directed MMDCEs to strictly apply sanitation by-laws, including fines for illegal dumping, open defecation, and failure to clean the frontage of homes and businesses.

Drawing comparisons with cities such as Kigali and Singapore, Mr Mahama said it was time for action, not slogans.

“This is not business as usual. You will be judged by the cleanliness of your district. It’s not only a health issue, it’s a measure of leadership,” he said.

As part of the changes, assemblies are to take full responsibility for waste management in their areas. Ten per cent of the District Assemblies Common Fund has been set aside for sanitation, while additional funding from the Communication Service Levy,  through the Youth Employment Agency, will be disbursed to districts.

Mr Mahama said MMDCEs will be in charge of selecting service providers through competitive processes and supervising sanitation workers.

“You will be accountable for both the process and the results,” he added.

He also noted that other decentralised sectors,  including education, health and roads, will follow a similar model in which access to resources is tied to performance at the local level.