Tarkwa: The Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly in the Western Region initiated the National Sanitation Day with its first clean-up exercise over the weekend. Security personnel, traders, drivers, and workers from Zoomlion, a waste collection and sanitation company, participated in the event, which commenced at 0630 hours and concluded at 1000 hours.
According to Ghana News Agency, participants engaged in various cleaning activities such as sweeping along roadsides, weeding, desilting clogged gutters, and collecting waste at the Tarkwa Main Bus Terminal and Railway Station. In support of the sanitation initiative, shops and businesses in Tarkwa temporarily closed their operations.
Addressing journalists post-exercise, Mr. Ebenezer Cobbinah, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Tarkwa Nsuaem, highlighted the intention for the program to be nationwide but expressed that they would not wait for official endorsements to start the clean-up. He encouraged maintaining positive sanitation practices and emphasized the importance of cleanliness.
Mr. Cobbinah urged residents and corporate bodies to actively participate in the monthly exercises to maintain municipal cleanliness and prevent disease outbreaks. He also advised the Environmental Health and Sanitation Unit to enforce by-laws on cleanliness to ensure sustained efforts.
The MCE remarked on the poor state of the Tarkwa Railway station and mentioned plans to address the situation collaboratively with his coordinating director and the assembly.
Mr. Alex Damptey, the Municipal Environmental Health Officer, explained that the National Sanitation Day, previously inactive, had been revived by the current government. Although officially scheduled to commence nationwide on May 3, 2025, the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipal Assembly received approval from the Western Regional Minister to proceed due to early preparations.
Mr. Damptey, along with the MCE, Member of Parliament for Tarkwa Nsuaem constituency, and traditional leaders, mobilized residents for the exercise to foster a healthier environment, which in turn would boost the local economy. He noted the encouraging turnout and expressed confidence in improved participation for the next clean-up scheduled for the last Saturday of the month.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer also emphasized that individuals who failed to participate in the exercise would face prosecution to deter non-compliance in the future.
