U/E warms up for 7th sanitation day exercise

All is set for the Seventh National Sanitation Day (NSD) clean-up exercise, scheduled to take place in Bolgatanga, the Upper East Regional Capital and its environs, on Saturday May 2.

The event, which is set to come on every first Saturday of the month, is aimed at instilling the attitude and culture of cleaning up the environment among Ghanaians, which would go a long way to check ecological degradation.

Alhaji Collins Dauda, Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, his two deputies, Mr Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum and Mr Edwin Nii Lante Vanderpuye, and directors of the Ministry would be present in Bolgatanga to partake in the exercise.

At a ceremony in Bolgatanga to hand over sanitation materials to the Regional Coordinating Council, Alhaji Dauda said the items were meant for distribution to the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to augment the facilities of the MMDAs to ensure sustenance and success of the national sanitation exercise.

He said his sector ministry recognises the role some private sector institutions and Ghanaians at large play in ensuring good sanitary practices and to make the exercise successful.

Alhaji Dauda said the NSD campaign was launched with the aim of instilling attitudinal change in Ghanaians to clean their environment and control the indiscriminate way of dumping refuse in their communities.

Mr James Tiigah, Regional Minister thanked the ministry for the sanitation materials saying it would help to ensure the sustainability of the exercise in the area.

The items presented were 8672 liter bins, 45 rakes, 45 wheel barrows, 45 shovels, 40 pairs of hand gloves, 50 pairs of wellington boots, 20 cutlasses and three bales of T-shirts.

Ghana was rated among the 10 dirtiest countries in terms of sanitation control by the United Nations, and this had informed the ministry's decision to institute the NSD exercise.

The NSD was launched on September 17, 2014 at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre in Accra.