President John Dramani Mahama on Friday led the first day of the National Clean-Up Exercise at Tse Addo in Accra, where he urged Ghanaians to embrace sanitation as a shared national responsibility and stressed that sustained maintenance of drains is essential to preventing flooding.
Addressing residents and volunteers after participating in the desilting of drains, President Mahama said the exercise had exposed one of the major causes of flooding, pointing to the large volumes of plastic waste and accumulated silt removed from drainage channels.
He noted that the amount of plastic waste retrieved from the drains clearly demonstrated how human activities contribute to environmental challenges, while the significant build-up of sand and silt showed years of neglect that had drastically reduced the drains’ ability to carry stormwater effectively.
The President observed that previous clean-up exercises often failed to produce lasting results because desilted materials were left along roadsides, only to be washed back into the drains during subsequent rains. He emphasized that the current exercise would be different, insisting that all removed silt must be transported to approved disposal sites to prevent the problem from recurring.
According to him, if the desilting and proper disposal of waste are carried out consistently over the next one to two years, the drainage systems will gradually regain their full capacity to channel water and significantly reduce the incidence of flooding.
President Mahama commended the large number of residents, volunteers, and stakeholders who participated in the exercise, describing the public response across the city as encouraging and a demonstration of citizens’ commitment to restoring environmental cleanliness.
He further announced that following the community clean-up, the Ghana Armed Forces and other security agencies would continue dredging major waterways to ensure drains have clear outlets that direct excess water into designated wetlands.
The President stressed that the National Clean-Up Exercise must not become a one-off event but should evolve into a permanent national campaign. He proposed that every month, a dedicated day be set aside for citizens to come together to clean their communities.
President Mahama expressed confidence that with the collaboration of waste management companies, local authorities, and residents, Ghana could maintain cleaner communities while significantly reducing the risk of devastating floods.
Story: Patrick Asford Boadu
