Residents of the Senya Electoral area in the Ayawso East municipality defied orders to keep their shops closed until 12 noon on Tuesday, August 6, 2024.
The directive aimed to facilitate the Homowo clean-up exercise led by the Ga Mantse, the Regional Coordinating Council, and Zoomlion.
In Mamobi, residents have converted the main road into a cattle ranch, block factory, and sand-selling area, obstructing vehicle movement. Speaking to some sand dealers, they mentioned that they have been selling sand on the main road for over 30 years, making it a norm in Mamobi.
Between the sand and the tarred road lies the Mamobi big drainage or gutter. The sand sellers admitted that their sand often gets washed into the gutter, causing floods whenever it rains.
Although they acknowledge the cost, they claim this is their only source of livelihood. Other businesses operating between the Mamobi street and the main gutter include cattle owners, food vendors, and charcoal sellers, whose waste products end up in the drains.
According to the Ayawaso East Assembly, all efforts to remove these traders have been unsuccessful. The assembly member of the Senya electoral area stated that assembly members in the municipality feel powerless in addressing these issues. However, on Tuesday, August 6, 2024, with the help of some security personnel, the sand sellers and other traders between the street and the main gutter were forced to leave.
Despite other communities supporting the clean-up exercise, residents of Mamobi in the Ayawaso East municipality did not, making the work more difficult for the sanitation officers.
The clean-up exercise, spearheaded by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC) in collaboration with the Ga Traditional Council (GTC) and supported by the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, the Ministry for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, began from the Accra Metropolis, specifically Ga Mashie, to the Korle Klottey Municipal Assembly, among other assemblies in the region.
His Royal Majesty, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, who officially launched the 2024 Homowo Clean-Up Exercise, called for collective action and responsibility in addressing environmental degradation across the Greater Accra Region.
The King outlined expectations for the clean-up exercise, noting that all shops and businesses in the designated areas would be closed on the day of the event, urging all leaders of various groups and associations and all residents to participate fully.
King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II urged residents to adhere strictly to sanitation bye-laws and called for violators to face the full rigors of the law without external interventions.
The King also appealed to corporate bodies to adopt healthy green policies and beautify the capital while calling on the Advertising Association of Ghana (AAG) to work with local authorities to declutter billboards and remove unauthorized advertising materials to improve the city’s aesthetics.
He urged the assemblies to provide refuse bins at strategic points to discourage littering and to intensify public education and communal labour activities while enforcing environmental laws.
