The much heralded ‘Operation Clean your Frontage’, an initiative by the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council (GARCC) to improve the sanitary conditions in the region was given a regional acceptance with the participation of all the municipal and district assemblies in the region.
ANITA NYARKO-YIRENKYI reports that the Ablekuma West Municipal Assembly on Tuesday, organised a float to educate residents on the by-laws as part of activities to support the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign.
The walk which began at 8:30 a.m. brought together staff from the assembly, committee members, assembly members and residents.
They walked through Mass, Russia and Akokorfoto communities displaying placards some with inscriptions: “Stop burning of refuse”; “Cleaning of your frontage is your responsibility and not the assembly”; “Keep your premises clean”; “Stop open defecation now.”
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr George Cyril Bray, in an address said the assembly would enforce the by-laws and warned that anyone falling foul of the law would be dealt with.
He entreated residents to support the campaign and collaborate with the assembly to ensure that the municipality was clean.
VIVIAN ARTHUR reports that, residents of the Ayawaso North Municipal Assembly (ANMA) have been advised to take sanitation around their homes, offices and shops as their personal responsibility, even as the assembly prepared to implement its sanitation by-laws beginning from February this year.
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Mr Aminu Mohammed Zakari, gave the advice when he led the assembly on the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign to sensitise residents within the municipality in Accra on Wednesday.
The exercise which started around 8:00 a.m. saw assembly members, committee members, and staff from the assembly and residents march through the principal streets within the municipality to educate the public on how to keep their environment clean.
The MCE engaged residents within Maamobi, Nima, Accra New Town and Pigfarm, on the need to maintain a clean and healthy environment without being forced to do so.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Mr Delima Amoonagquah, urged residents who have their shops close to drains to clean the gutters regularly and ensure that their frontages were clean just as they do to their homes.
ANITA ANKRAH AND IGNATIUS AWUAH TANOE BLAY report that
MCE for Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly, Hajia Salma Mohammed Sani Adam-Kuta, urged residents to continually clean their frontage as sanctions have begun.
She said this when she led a float from Kawukudi through to Nima and Kanda Highway to create public awareness on “Operation Clean Your Frontage”
As part of the campaign, the team cleared heaps of refuse, disilted choked drains to let out stagnant water.
Addressing the media Hajia Adam-Kuta said as they had implemented their sanctions, they were aware it would be difficult but they would work in accordance with their by-laws.
“The implementation would not be easy from the beginning but with strict enforcement, we would make sure everyone clean their frontage especially now that we have gazetted the Ayawaso East by-laws”.
“I am not going to leave it for the taskforce alone, I am also going to be leading in every operation because I know every corner in my constituency, so I would make sure everyone comply to prevent bribery.”
JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU reports that the Okaikwei North Municipal Assembly (ONMA) says it would not relent to prosecute offenders of the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” programme.
The MCE, Mr Boye Laryea, who led members of the assembly in a float within the municipality to sensitise residents about the campaign, warned used car dealers who had taken over parts of the John Walker Bush Highway to remove the vehicles to create easy access or have themselves to blame.
Mr Laryea called on residents to embrace cleanliness in their homes and communities and said “we will soon work on human attitudes to bring about the needed change.”
National Service Personnel together with staff of the assembly educated residents, shop owners and drivers on the need to keep their immediate surroundings clean.
ABIGAIL ARTHUR AND SAMUEL GYASI ODURO report that the MCE for La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly (LaDMA), Solomon Kotey Nikoi, led officials of the assembly on a float to launch the “Operation Clean your Frontage” campaign in the municipality.
The participants, including the environmental health officers, some Ghana Police Service and Ghana National Fire Service personnel, residents, business operators and other stakeholders, toured the municipality with the message to the people at their doorsteps.
Areas visited included La Wireless, Jubilee Well St, Salem Link, Emmaus, Nazareth, La Koo, Kwaranya, Lomo Adamu, Olooti and Nii Odoi Tsoru streets.
Launching the campaign, Mr Nikoi noted that the initiative by the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, under the auspices of the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (RCC), was to make “Accra work again.”
The LaDMA MCE stressed that “cleanliness is next to Godliness, so if we were able to keep our communities clean, we would be the same people to benefit.”
The Member of Parliament (MP) for La Dade-Kotopon Constituency, Ms Rita Odoley Sowah, said she was hopeful that people would heed to the message and clean their frontages.
At the Ablekuma North Municipal Assembly, the MCE, Mr Kofi Ofori, led the “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign team to the Victory Bible Church at Awoshie Junction, Church of Pentecost, Odorkor Central, Parliament Chapel, Darkuman, Presbyterian Church of God, Trinity Congregation Darkuman and Assemblies of God, Kwashieman.
He was accompanied by the Municipal Director for National Commission on Civic Education, Mr Richmond Okoaben- Mensah, the District Information Officer, Ms Mercy Asante and the Acting Municipal Health Environmental Officer, Mr Paul Agbagba.
Addressing the various congregations at separate occasions, Mr Ofori said the policy was not been introduced to instill fear into anybody rather to ensure that citizens play their civic roles for the well-being and general good of society.
He admonished residents and businesses to be responsible for cleaning their frontages of choked gutters and keep their surroundings clean at all times.
He said gutters were provided in most places to ensure free flow of water, but they have been left choked through indiscriminate dumping of refuse by ourselves.
However, the MCE decried the attitude of some Ghanaians to deliberately cover offenders without correcting them, adding that “it does not help the cause of development.”
Mr Ofori prevailed upon the churches to regularly incorporate the campaign information in their announcement and bulletins to help propagate the message farther.
GODFRED BLAY GIBBAH reports from TEMA that
the Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) Chief Executive Yohane Amarh Ashitey, called on residents and businesses to keep their frontage and surroundings clean in accordance with the District Assembly Waste Management and Sanitation By-Laws.
He urged owners or occupiers of buildings to ensure that their frontage was “greened, solidly paved or tiled” to the assembly’s specification.
He said persons who failed to comply with the by-law committed an offence which was liable to summary conviction to a fine or a term of imprisonment not less than six months and not more than 12 months.
As part of the launch the TMA held a float throughout principal streets of Tema Manhean and others spanning communities 1,4,7,8,9,10,11 and 12 where staff, National Service persons and employees of Zoomlion sensitised residents about the need to clean the environment and distributed leaflets on the subject for their perusal to encourage compliance.
“As a member of the community, you must play your role by cleaning the environment to prevent the spread of diseases like cholera, typhoid and malaria,” he said.
Mr Ashitey encouraged passengers to drop litters in containers kept in vehicles for the purpose, and desist from the habit of throwing items out of the window into the streets.
FROM KPONE, KEN AFEDZI reports that the Kpone-Katamanso Municipal Assembly (KKMA) led by the MCE, Samuel Okoe Amakwah, educated the residents about the ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ policy, during which he distributed flyers to them.
He warned that recalcitrant persons would be summoned and possibly be prosecuted for refusal to comply with the directive.
Personnel from the National Service Scheme and (NSS) and the Nation Builders Corps (NaBCo) clad in ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ shirts were in their numbers educating residents and distributing flyers to drum home the campaign message.
Security services and Zoomlion taskforce and workers were seen cleaning the environment, while a Zoomlion branded waste truck was on standby to convey the garbage to the refuse dump.
