The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region have commenced a major clean-up exercise to help rid the city of filth.
The exercise involves de-silting of choked gutters, sweeping of major streets and evacuation of hundreds of tonnes of waste from various parts of the city.
Waste bins filled with rubbish which pose a health threat to members of the public are also emptied.
The clean-up by the MMDAs is in response to a directive by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) for them to use the two-week restriction on movement that has been placed on the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area to curb the spread of the COVID-19 as an opportunity to improve on their sanitation situation.
Launch
The launch of the clean-up exercise at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) attracted some government officials, such as the Minister of Finance, Mr Ken Ofori-Atta; the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah; her deputy, Mr Michael Yaw Gyato, and the Deputy Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mrs Elizabeth Sackey.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive for Accra, Mr Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, and the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, were also present at the launch.
During the event, Zoomlion presented 10,000 hand sanitisers, 5,000 nose masks, as well as wheelbarrows and brooms to facilitate the clean-up exercise.
The MSWR presented 3,000 bottles of water, while Unilever Ghana Limited donated 250 cartons of soap to support handwashing, which is a key requirement to curb the spread of the COVID-19.
Deployment
Shortly after the launch of the clean-up exercise, a joint team, made up of 250 men from the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), 35 from the Prisons Service and others from the Ghana National Fire Service (GNFS), was deployed, together with over 1,000 workers of Zoomlion, to undertake the clean-up of some parts of the city.The acting Commander in charge of the Support Services Brigade, Col Kenneth Kwaku Kwaah Kumi, led the team of security men for the exercise.Waste management trucks, mechanical street sweepers, excavators, wheelbarrows and shovels were among the logistics deployed for the exercise. Clean up The team visited areas such as Agbogbloshie, Okaishie, the Rawlings Park and the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, where they de-silted choked gutters, cleared litter from main streets and emptied litter bins at various locations.While mechanical street sweepers were used to clean the main streets of Accra, excavators […]
