The Mayor of Accra, Michael Kpakpo Allotey, has urged traders within the Central Business District to sweep their immediate surroundings every hour as part of efforts to sustain cleanliness in the capital beyond the monthly National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise.
He gave the directive on Saturday, 5th September 2026, during an inspection of the September NSD exercise with the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, through parts of the metropolis, including Tudu.
The inspection, which began from the Kinbu Traffic Light and continued through Tudu and other principal streets, was to assess the level of compliance by traders and businesses with the sanitation exercise and encourage them to maintain the standard of cleanliness achieved.
Addressing traders during the exercise, at Tudu, Mayor Allotey said NSD had come to stay but stressed that keeping Accra clean could not be limited to the first Saturday of every month.
He said traders must take responsibility for the areas in which they operate by regularly sweeping and removing litter throughout the day, adding that cleaning their immediate surroundings every hour would help prevent waste from accumulating in the busy commercial district.
The Mayor used the opportunity to commend traders for the level of cleanliness observed during the exercise and urged them to maintain the same standard on normal working days, stressing that sanitation should become part of their daily routine.
He noted that keeping markets and trading areas clean would also protect public health and reduce the risk of sanitation-related illnesses, noting that traders should not have to spend the income they earned on treating preventable diseases caused by poor environmental conditions.
During the inspection, Hon. Ayariga joined the Mayor and traders at Tudu to demonstrate the expected level of cleanliness by taking a broom from one of the traders and personally sweeping a section of the street.
The Minister and the Mayor also picked up pieces of litter they encountered along the route to reinforce the message that keeping the environment clean was the responsibility of everyone.
Speaking after the inspection, Hon. Ayariga said he was encouraged by the level of participation in the NSD exercise but stressed that environmental cleanliness must become a daily habit rather than an activity reserved for the first Saturday of every month.
He said residents should pick up waste whenever they see it and dispose of it properly.
The Minister also disclosed that the Ministry was developing a national sanitation strategy to address challenges in waste collection, including inadequate waste bins and difficulties in accessing some densely populated communities.
He said the strategy would guide the deployment of appropriate waste bins and collection systems across communities while commending the Mayor and traders for the level of compliance observed during the exercise.