THE Adentan Municipal Assembly (AdMA) has launched its piloted awareness campaign of the government policy of  ‘ Operation Clean Your Frontage Campaign,’ aimed at reducing filth in the municipality.

The municipal campaign is an offshoot of the initiative by the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC), ‘Clean Your Frontage.

It was officially launched last year by President Akufo Addo, to ensure that all households and organizations clean and beautify their frontages to complement the government’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

Over 200 civilians under the ‘Clean Your Frontage Team’ and some officers of the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) are been mandated to enforce the bye-laws to govern the initiative.

The campaign would officially begin on Tuesday, February 1, 2022, where sanitation officers would go round to arrest and prosecute offenders.

At a ceremony on Wednesday, January 26, 2022, to operationalize the  “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign, the Municipal Chief Executive,  Daniel Alexander Nii  Adumuah called on residents to keep their frontages clean or face the sanction in breach of the sanitation bye-laws.

HON DANIEL NII ADUMUAH

According to the MCE), the assembly would strictly enforce its bye-laws to ensure the success of the campaign and the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest capital city in Africa.

Hon Adumuah reminded the residents that cleanliness was important to the well-being of everyone, hence the need to keep our surroundings clean to avoid any infraction with the law.

He said the assembly and the nation had to revert to the days where district assemblies employed sanitary inspectors, “Saman-Saman” as some residents refused to take responsibility for the waste they generate, while others also improperly disposed of waste, causing pollution.

The AdMA sanitary officers, the MCE explained would use the first three days to create awareness by sensitizing and educating residents in all the communities in the municipality on the bye-laws before enforcement takes effect in February 2022.

Hon Nii Adumuah said per the bye-laws, “A person who undertakes any commercial or industrial business or public business shall ensure that the premises and the frontage of that business is clean and kept neat at all times.”

AdMA CLEAN FRONTAGE OFFICERS

The law further stated that,  where a commercial or industrial operation fails to comply, the assembly shall notify the person in charge of the business of the non-compliance and require him or her to clean the frontage within three days.

However, where the industrial operation fails to comply within the specific period, the assembly shall undertake the cleaning and charge the owner of the business with the cost of cleaning, adding that the same law applied to residential and industrial buildings.

This, the MCE cautioned residents to adhere to the bye-laws for they might be making a mistake into believing that it is going to be business  as usual to have a second thought, stressing that, “When February comes, there would not be any mercy.”

Hon Joseph Odai Boye, the Presiding Member (PM) of the assembly who is also the assemblyman for Adjirigano, urged his colleagues to lead the exercises in their Electoral Areas to make the campaign successful.

He said the adage that Cleanness is next to Godliness could only be achieved if the assembly members take the exercises seriously and lead the way.

HON JOSEPH NII ODAI BOYE,PM

While urging residents to adhere to the bye-laws and clean their frontages, the PM also cautioned the residents to avoid acts and attitudes that would lead to their arrest for non compliance.

On his part, the Adentan-Abokobi Divisional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Eric Winful, assured that the police would help the assembly to strictly enforce the bye-laws without fear or favour to make the environment clean of filth.

He however urged residents to firmly stick on to the directive in order not to fall foul of the law, warning that the police cells would be open to any residents who felt he or she is above the laws of the country.

The Divisional Police Commander also cautioned Chiefs and opinion leaders within the municipality not to abuse the system and intervene for recalcitrant residents who might breach the laws.

Other officials including the Regional Environmental Health Officer, Douglas Tagoe, the Municipal Environmental Health Officer, Andrew Aborhey and the Municipal Coordinating Director, Mrs. Jemimah Apedo-Kallstrate, took turns to address the residents and traders at the program.

Mr. Tagoe said Accra as the national Capital is the eye of the country, but due to poor enforcement of the sanitation laws, it has become dirty and untidy.

MR TAGOE

He, therefore, called on residents and every person who visits the capital city to transact businesses to support the government’s agenda, emphasizing that, the bye-law has adequate penalties for defaulters as they could be fined, imprisoned, or be sanctioned on both.

On her part, the Municipal Coordinating Director, Mrs. Jemimah Apedo-Kallstrates, explained that the main objective of the initiative was to make residents, traders, and institutions responsible for the cleaning of their surroundings and frontage.

Mr. Andrew Aborhey, the Municipal Health Officer said the campaign is a good step in achieving the vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

However, he noted that over the year’s challenges with sanitation have had to do with logistics, enforcement of bye-laws and attitudes of the citizenry.

He encouraged residents in the municipality to abide by the bye-laws and get involved in cleaning their immediate frontages to make the exercise a success.

A Waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has been contracted to create refuse collection points in all the Electoral Areas and Institutions within the Municipality.

Source: expressnewsghana.com

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