Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang leads Nungua market clean-up exercise in nationwide sanitation drive

In a powerful show of presidential commitment to environmental hygiene, Vice President Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang personally led a massive clean-up exercise at the Nungua Market on Saturday, joining hundreds of traders, residents, and government officials to desilt choked drains, clear debris, and restore sanitation to one of the Greater Accra Region’s busiest commercial hubs.

The exercise, which lasted over six hours, saw the Vice President in boots and gloves, working side by side with market women and volunteers to scoop out plastic waste, silt, and refuse from clogged waterways. An estimated 200 tonnes of solid waste were evacuated, and more than 3 kilometres of primary and secondary drains were fully restored to free flow.

The Vice President was accompanied by a high-level government delegation, including the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim; the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo; and the Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, who is also the Member of Parliament for the Krowor constituency. Municipal chiefs, assembly members, and teams from the National Service Scheme and Zoomlion also took part.

“We Must Lead by Example” – Vice President

Addressing traders and residents after the exercise, the Vice President emphasised that the clean-up was a direct response to President John Dramani Mahama’s nationwide directive to proactively tackle sanitation challenges ahead of the rainy season. She noted that the recent devastating floods, which claimed lives and destroyed property in parts of Accra, were a stark wake-up call.

“The recent floods were a painful reminder that protecting our environment is a shared responsibility,” said Vice President Opoku-Agyemang. “While Government will continue to invest in flood mitigation measures—drains, culverts, and earthworks—we must also ensure that our individual actions safeguard our communities. We know what to do: dispose of waste properly, clear our gutters, and avoid building on waterways. The question is whether we will commit to doing so consistently.”

She added that leadership demands action, not just directives. “That is why I am here today with my boots on. If we ask Ghanaians to clean their environment, we must show that we are willing to do the same. This is not about photo opportunities; it is about building a culture of collective responsibility.”

Proactive Dry-Season Strategy Gains Traction

The exercise also provided a platform for direct engagement with market women and residents. Among the key recommendations that emerged was the need to intensify nationwide clean-up campaigns during the dry season—specifically between December and February—so that drains and waterways are completely cleared well before the rains arrive. This proactive approach, the Vice President noted, would be far more cost-effective and life-saving than emergency dredging after flooding has already occurred.

“We are engaging traditional leaders, local authorities, and market associations to institutionalise this,” she said. “If we clear our drains early, we give ourselves a fighting chance against the May and June downpours. That is the forward planning we need.”

Hon. Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, revealed that the regional coordinating council has scheduled monthly exercises for all major markets and flood-prone communities, with Nungua being the first. “We are starting here because it is one of the worst-hit areas, but we will move to Madina, Ashaiman, and other hotspots,” she said.

Community Applauds Hands-On Leadership

Traders who participated expressed appreciation for the Vice President’s direct involvement. Madam Ama Serwaa, a long-time fish seller at Nungua Market, told journalists: “We have been crying about the smell and the flooding for years. Today, we saw our Vice President and ministers in boots and gloves, working alongside us. It gives us hope that this time, the change will be real.”

The team also addressed immediate concerns raised by market women, including irregular waste collection and a shortage of public disposal bins. In response, Hon. Dr. Agnes Naa Momo Lartey pledged to work with the Ministry of Sanitation and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to deploy additional skip containers and intensify public education on waste segregation.

The exercise concluded with a brief durbar, where the Vice President commended the over 500 volunteers for their massive turnout. The municipal chief executive assured that the desilted drains would be monitored weekly, and warned that any trader caught dumping waste into them would face the full enforcement of sanitation by-laws.

As the delegation departed, the market wore a transformed look—freshly swept pavements, open drainage channels, and a renewed sense of collective ownership. For the residents of Nungua, the message was unmistakable: the fight against flooding begins not with concrete barriers alone, but with every citizen’s daily choices—and this time, leadership is leading from the front.

The government has announced that the next major exercise will take place in two weeks at the Tema Station market, as the nationwide campaign gathers steam under the Vice President’s continued oversight.