Executive Secretary of Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ama Ofori Antwi, has cast doubt on the efficiency of the National Sanitation Day exercise.
Madam Antwi has said the monthly cleanup exercise cannot solve the sanitation issues the nation is confronted with.
Speaking on Adom FM’s Burning Issues, she noted that the exercise can only raise awareness and not necessarily rid the country of filth.
“I have been in the sanitation sector for 12 years, and to be sincere, the sanitation day cannot address our sanitation problems, but it only creates awareness among citizens,’’ she said.
Madam Antwi added that the exercise is not sustainable; hence, there must be a review with special attention to crowded areas, which tend to have genuine sanitation concerns.
The cleanup exercise, scheduled for the first Saturday of every month, was introduced by the NDC administration in 2016, focusing on making Ghana clean.
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, on February 28, 2025, launched the Regional Sanitation Day, underscoring the need for a collective effort to maintain cleanliness and prevent diseases in the national capital.
The initiative, she explained, aligns with President John Mahama’s reintroduction of National Sanitation Day, aimed at addressing Ghana’s poor sanitation challenges.
However, Madam Antwi has emphasised that the country needs more attitudinal change and law enforcement in dealing with sanitation challenges.
In a related development, the ESPA Executive Secretary raised concerns over the decision of the government to scrap the sanitation fund in the 2025 budget, stating it could worsen the situation.
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