President John Mahama says the government is considering introducing a nationwide monthly clean-up exercise as part of efforts to improve sanitation and reduce flooding across the country.
The President announced the proposal after joining senior government officials at Alajo in Accra to launch and inspect the ongoing two-day national clean-up exercise.
The exercise forms part of government efforts to clear choked drains, improve sanitation and reduce the risk of flooding in communities that remain vulnerable during the rainy season.
Speaking after participating in the exercise, President Mahama said two days were not enough to address the country’s sanitation challenges. He stressed the need for a regular and sustained national effort.
“Two days are not enough to finish this work, but we are going to institute it so that at least one day every month all of us should come out and clean our surroundings,” he said.
President urges Ghanaians to revive communal values
President Mahama said the proposal reflects Ghana’s traditional culture, where communities worked together to maintain clean surroundings. However, he noted that rapid urbanisation has weakened that sense of shared responsibility.
“That is what our traditional values were about. We are taught to keep a clean environment, but when we all leave our hometowns and come, because of the anonymity of urbanisation, we think that nobody watches us, so we dump those values and we live in filth,” he said.
He called on citizens to adopt responsible sanitation practices, saying lasting improvements will depend on a change in public attitude.
“We must change that attitude,” he added.
Government commits funds for flood mitigation
The President also outlined measures the government is taking to reduce flooding, particularly in parts of Accra where blocked drains and silted streams continue to create serious risks during heavy rains.
He disclosed that the Minister of Finance has released GH¢150 million to support flood mitigation projects, including dredging streams and carrying out other drainage improvement works.
“I’m also asking the Minister of Finance; he’s already released 150 million to help with flood mitigation, that is, the dredging of the streams and all that,” the President said.
President Mahama further announced that the Ghana Armed Forces will continue supporting the clean-up and drainage works after the official two-day exercise ends.
“And so the military will continue that exercise, even after we have finished this two-day cleanup,” he said.
