Operation Clean Northern Region here to stay

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, has said the ‘Operation Clean Northern Region’ campaign which was launched on Thursday, May 20, 2021 to ensure environmental cleanliness in the region has come to stay.

The campaign has dedicated the last Saturday of every month as the Northern Regional sanitation day and it is aimed at improving the sanitation situation in the region.

The campaign, which kick started on May 29, 2021, witnessed massive participation, and was led by the Northern Regional Minister, the Northern Regional Police Commander, and some officers of the waste management company, Zoomlion.

During the exercise, Alhaji Shaibu indicated that the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) was going to ensure that the campaign was sustained to achieve the objective of keeping the region clean.

He stated that sustaining the campaign to achieve cleanliness in the region was going to improve the health of citizens in the region.

"Operation clean Northern Region has come to stay. And we will make sure that we sustain it for the benefit of the people. For the sake of our health, we must all ensure we participate in the exercise to promote our own health," he said.

Satisfaction

Based on the turn out for the exercise on the first day, the minister indicated that he was hopeful that the aims and objectives of the campaign were going to be realised if the people would continue to participate like that in future sanitation days.

He expressed his satisfaction towards the participation while urging other residents of the region who could not participate in the first exercise to participate in the subsequent ones.

"So far, I'm impressed with the turnout. The exercise went on nicely, especially with the support of Zoomlion; they provided us with equipment to make the exercise successful," the minister said.

Sanitation by-laws

Alhaji Shaibu said to ensure that people did not litter the environment again, the sanitation by-laws were going to be strictly enforced and that any person found dirtying the environment in any part of the region would be dealt with to serve as a deterrent to others.

He called on the law enforcement agencies to assist the RCC to enforce the sanitation by-laws to achieve cleanliness in the region.

"We are going to enforce the by-laws of the assembly. So, I call on the regional police commander to assist us in that regard," he said.

The exercise

In Tamale, the Northern Regional capital, the exercise started at 6:00a.m. at the central business district  and was led by the regional minister.

Heads of some agencies, market women, station managers, drivers and some youth  joined the exercise to clear filth along the streets and the main transport yard.

To ensure a smooth exercise, all vehicles were stopped from moving in and out of the transport yard and along some routes.

While the exercise was coordinated by the metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives (MMDCEs) across the region, the regional minister coordinated the exercise in the Tamale Metropolis, including areas such as Nyohini to the Tamale Abattoir area at Shishiagu.

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Sanitation Chief of the Dagbon Kingdom, Mr Ahmed Latif, indicated that the “Operation Clean Northern Region” campaign initiated by the regional minister was laudable, while pledging his total support towards the success of the campaign.

The Sanitation Chief, however, called on the youth across the Northern Region to actively participate in the exercise to make the region the cleanest region in the country. #GraphicCleanGH