The Western Regional Minister, Joseph Nelson, has urged MMDAs to move beyond symbolic monthly cleanups and actively enforce local sanitation by-laws.
Speaking after participating in the National Sanitation Day in Sekondi, he commended the turnout but warned that such exercises alone are insufficient.
He pointed to persistent issues like indiscriminate dumping and choked drains as evidence that lasting cleanliness requires a culture of responsibility backed by consistent law enforcement.
“For me, the National Sanitation Day must not be just a monthly ritual that happens every first Saturday. It must become a way of life. People need to be conscious of their environment and understand that the need to keep it clean is as simple as that.
The key to this is enforcing the Assembly’s by-laws. People must know that there is a direct cost for littering. We must move away from ‘business as usual,’ where people litter freely because they assume someone will clean it up on the first Saturday,” he said.
“People must take ownership of cleaning their own environment. I witnessed a clear example at the Sekondi market during the exercise: while some market women were working hard to clean, others were just sitting and watching. These are the very people who ply their trade there, litter freely, and then expect someone else to clean up after them. Therefore, I believe everyone must be aware: if you litter indiscriminately, you will pay for it,” he pointed out.
Following the cleanup exercise, the Municipal Chief Executive for Effia-Kwesimintsim, Abdul Majeed Dokurgu, thanked the Western Regional Minister for his participation in the National Sanitation Day.
In a media interview, he explained that the Assembly had focused its cleanup efforts on the Apremdu market to accommodate participants coming from the Jubilee grounds.
“In the Effia-Kwesimintsim Constituency, we are fortunate to be holding our second National Sanitation Day since it was relaunched by His Excellency John Dramani Mahama.
Judging by today’s turnout, I can confidently say the message has been well-received by my constituents. During the previous exercise, we focused on cleaning most of our drains. This time, we decided to clean the Apremdo Market to welcome our market women, who have been relocated here from the Jubilee Park,” he stated.
