The Buipewura, Mahama Abdulai Jinapor II at the weekend led a massive clean-up exercise at Buipe, to rid the area of filth to avert outbreak of communicable diseases as the rains set in.
The maiden clean-up exercise was an initiative of the Buipewura, who is leading: “The Clean Environment,” campaign in the Buipe Traditional Area especially flood prone spots to ensure that human activity do not cause havoc during the peak raining season.
The over four-hour exercise commenced simultaneously from the Central Gonja District Assembly area and the Buipe Toll Booth point.
Various groups comprising Ghana National Fire Service, Ghana Police Service, the military, cooperative unions, schools, and community leaders took part in the exercise with Zoomlion, a sanitation management organisation providing logistics.
The Executives of Buipe branch of Gonjaland Youth Association also provided support.
The people desilted choked gutters, cleared weeds along the streets and created passages for the free flow of water.
Buipewura Jinapor, who addressed the large crowd at the Buipe market after the clean-up exercise appealed to the people to make it a routine habit of cleaning their surroundings, “since cleanliness is next to Godliness”.
He said as part of measures to sustain the exercise and to ensure a clean environment, every last Saturday of every month is set aside for every household to clean its premises.
Buipewura Jinapor said anyone who fails to patronise the exercised would be fined not less than Ghc 200.
He said the Buipe Traditional Council would liaise with the District Assembly to implement the by-laws and to empower the Environmental Sanitary Inspectorate to sanction defaulters.
Mr Mumuni Shiraz Ibin Yacin, District Chief Executive, who took part in the exercise commended the chief for being a partner in development.
“We need to emulate him for the needed development of our district,” Mr Yacin said.
He asked the youth not to sit on the fence but strive to contribute their quota towards development of the area.
He said: “Buipe is the gateway to the Northern Region and a future business hub, which would solve youth unemployment.”