The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has held its third and final National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise for 2025 across the metropolis, with the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, urging residents and traders to sustain the cleanliness achieved during the exercise throughout the Christmas season and beyond.

The exercise, which started at 6:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 13, was carried out within the Accra Metropolis to improve environmental hygiene ahead of the Christmas and end-of-year festivities.

Cleansing activities covered desilting and cleaning of open and covered drains, brushing and washing of road kerbs and medians, sweeping of streets and lanes, and general clean-up operations in markets, lorry parks, beaches and other public spaces.

The operation covered all electoral areas, markets and the Central Business District (CBD), with intensified work in Chorkor and Chemu Naa, as well as at Dogo Beach. In the Chorkor and Chemu Naa areas, teams desilted drains and cleared inner lanes, particularly in litter-prone sections, while at Dogo Beach the focus was on removing solid waste along the shoreline to improve environmental hygiene along the beachfront.

Along the Graphic Road corridor, the exercise focused on sweeping and clearing refuse along road shoulders, while at  Agbogbloshie,  teams desilted major drains.

Interacting with the traders along the Kinbu, Tudu and Makola enclave during inspection, the Mayor of Accra commended the traders for coming out in their numbers and said many had started cleaning their respective areas as early as 5:00 a.m.

He explained that the decision to allow traders to begin selling at around 9am was because their immediate surroundings had been cleaned, adding that the Assembly could not keep traders from trading after the clean-up, particularly during the Christmas period when economic activity peaks.

The Mayor urged traders to maintain the standard of cleanliness displayed during the exercise throughout the festive season and beyond, stressing that a clean environment supports public health and contributes to a more liveable city.

He said the government wanted traders to sell more during Christmas and make profits,but warned that poor sanitation could lead to sickness and force people to spend their earnings on hospital bills.

The Mayor also cautioned traders against paying money to anyone claiming to have authority to allocate trading spaces on pavements or on government-reserved lands, stressing that such areas were not for sale.

The Mayor’s inspection route covered the Kinbu traffic light area through the Accra City Hotel enclave, back through Tudu, to Makola and the Accra Post Office area after which he also inspected ongoing works at Dogo Beach and Agbogbloshie Market, where drains were being desilted as part of the clean-up operations.

The Mayor used the opportunity to remind the public that refusal to comply with sanitation directives or participate in communal labour constitutes an offence and is punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term of not less than 30 days and not more than six months, or both, adding that continuing offenders may be liable to additional daily penalties.

He urged residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants and business entities to continue taking responsibility for sanitation, including ensuring that drains in front of their premises were properly desilted and surroundings kept clean, as the city enters the peak festive season.