The Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) in the Western Region on Saturday organised a clean-up exercise across the municipality as part of its maiden Municipal Sanitation Day.
The exercise, which was observed under the theme: “Operation Clean Your Frontage,” mobilised residents, shop owners, and businesses to clean their frontages to promote a safe and cleaner environment across the entire municipality.
Mr Abdul Majeed Dokurgu, the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), who led the exercise said it would be observed on the first Saturday of every month to ensure that the area was always clean and in good hygienic condition for all.
According to the MCE, the move was in line with the government’s commitment to improving environmental cleanliness and promoting sustainable waste management in the municipality. He commended the residents for their massive participation in the exercise, saying; “In all the communities I have visited, I have seen that everyone is out to take part in the clean-up exercise, and the unique thing is that they are adhering to the theme for the exercise.”
Mr Dokurgu stated that as part of sustainability measures, the Assembly had empowered some youth groups to serve as sanitation task force to ensure that communities remained clean even after the municipal-wide clean-up exercise.
He said: “From today onwards, the Assembly men will take over with their unit committees and the task force to be cleaning and making sure that whatever gains we have made today will be sustained.”
He noted that the Assembly would also strictly enforce its sanitation bylaws to deter people from dumping refuse indiscriminately in gutters and drainages, and the environment in general.
Mr Musah Adamu, Assembly Member for Kwesimintsim Sofon Zongo, described the exercise as successful, and praised the people for coming out in their numbers to participate in cleaning their surroundings.
He expressed the hope that the subsequent ones to be organised would receive similar participation from residents to help completely rid the municipality of filth.
Madam Justina Bentum, a resident of Kwesimintsim, commended the EKMA for the initiative, and said: “It is through communal spirit like this that we can all contribute our quota to improve upon the sanitary condition of our municipality.”