President John Dramani Mahama has called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) to deal with sanitation head on, saying it is a national emergency that demands their urgent and immediate attention.
Speaking at the opening of an orientation workshop for MMDCEs at the Institute of Local Government Studies at Madina near Accra, President Mahama said dealing with sanitation was urgent due to its impact on public health and the environment.
He said the relaunched National Sanitation Day would go beyond just monthly clean-up campaigns and become a strategic citizen-led movement for behavior change, environmental health, and sustainable urban development.
“As MMDCEs, you will be judged by the cleanliness of your districts,” President Mahama said.
“A filthy town is not merely an eyesore, it is a public health hazard and an indictment on leadership.”
The President said sanitation would be one of the most important key performance indicators; adding that international experience affirmed this.
“For those of you who have been to Kigali, I should send you there one by one. The Rwandan government, through empowered local authorities and monthly community clean-ups called Umuganda, has made the city one of the cleanest in Africa,” President Mahama said.
He noted that in Singapore, strict enforcement of sanitation laws, waste segregation, and recycling had become standard practice.
He said in the Scandinavian countries, municipalities led secular economy models that transformed waste into energy, jobs, and revenue.
The President said the successes chalked by these countries were not accidental, but driven by committed local leadership, civic education, and accountability.
“And we must learn from these models. So your mandate on sanitation, you are hereby tasked to establish district sanitation task forces with clear responsibilities and regular performance assessments,” he said.
“You are tasked to mobilize communities including schools, faith-based institutions, and market groups for clean-up, education, and inspection drives.”
President Mahama said the MMDCEs were required to partner with the private sector for waste-to-energy projects and sustainable recycling value chains.
He directed them to enforce their sanitation bylaws rigorously, including penalties for illegal dumping, open defecation, and improper waste disposal.
President Mahama said under the immediate last administration, they passed a law for Ghanaians to clean their front; saying “How many districts are implementing this ‘clean your front’?”
“If everybody cleaned the front of his house, it would make your work easier.”
President Mahama said if they could enforce the law and ensure that those who failed to do so were sanctioned, it would make their work easier and save resources.
He said the government was working to include a national sanitation index in the local governance performance assessment framework.
He told the MMDCEs that their districts cleanliness, drainage, and hygiene infrastructure would be measured and published each year.
“The cleanest district will be named and the dirtiest district will be shamed. Let your legacy be a clean, green, and healthy economy,” he said.
“Now let’s be clear about sanitation services. We pledged to the Ghanaian people that we will implement a Reset agenda, didn’t we? This agenda applies to every facet of national life, including sanitation and waste management.”
He said the current waste management model was not working because it had become highly centralized.
He said the MMDAs had largely not been involved in the procurement of waste management equipment and accessories; stating that they had also felt that supervision of sanitation workers and cleaners was not part of their responsibilities.
He said there would be the implementation of a more effective model that transfers full responsibility for waste management and sanitation to MMDAs.
