AMA Warns of Prosecution as Accra Braces for November Sanitation Exercise

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has warned residents, traders and business operators that anyone found operating during Saturday’s National Sanitation Day exercise or obstructing clean-up activities will face legal sanctions, revealing that 27 offenders have already been prosecuted this year for skipping previous exercises.

The November edition of the monthly clean-up is scheduled for Saturday, November 7, 2026, from 6:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon across the Accra Metropolis . The exercise will involve sweeping streets and public spaces, desilting choked drains, clearing weeds, removing accumulated refuse, and cleaning markets, lorry parks, commercial centres and residential communities .

Enforcement With Teeth

In a statement signed by Head of Public Affairs Gilbert Nii Ankrah on behalf of the Metropolitan Chief Executive, the AMA said the prosecutions formed part of efforts to enforce sanitation regulations and promote responsible environmental practices. The Assembly stressed, however, that the exercise was not intended to generate revenue through fines and penalties but to promote behavioural change and instil a culture of cleanliness among residents .

The enforcement framework is rooted in the AMA (Communal Labour) By-Laws, 2017, enacted pursuant to Section 181 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936). Under the by-laws, every able-bodied resident is required to participate in communal labour organised by the Assembly. Contravention carries a fine of up to 100 penalty units or imprisonment of between 30 days and six months, or both, with a continuing offence attracting an additional daily penalty .

The AMA has deployed Environmental Health Officers, its Sanitation Task Force and other enforcement personnel across the metropolis to monitor compliance . The Assembly’s Sanitation Court has been active in recent months, convicting offenders for open defecation, illegal waste dumping and other sanitation violations. In April, a repeat waste-dumping offender was sentenced to six months in prison after failing to pay a GH¢1,200 fine . In February, ten fishmongers were fined GH¢600 each for drying anchovies on road medians .

A Relaunched National Agenda

The National Sanitation Day initiative was first launched in 2014 under then-President John Mahama but was discontinued under the Akufo-Addo administration in 2017. The current government relaunched it in September 2025 as part of the “Clean Up Ghana Agenda,” with the first Saturday of every month designated for nationwide clean-up exercises . The relaunch was framed as a renewed social contract between government and citizens, anchored on accountability, enforcement and sustainability, with sanitation integrated as a Key Performance Indicator for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives .

The November exercise comes as Accra continues to grapple with persistent sanitation challenges, including choked drains, indiscriminate waste disposal and open defecation. The AMA has urged residents to clean their immediate surroundings, clear weeds and drains in front of their premises, and properly gather waste for collection. It has also appealed to traditional authorities, religious leaders, market associations, transport unions, youth groups and corporate institutions to mobilise their members in support of the exercise .

“Maintaining a clean and healthy environment is a shared responsibility that should not be left solely to sanitation workers and local authorities,” the Assembly said .

As Saturday’s exercise approaches, the message from City Hall is unambiguous: the clean-up is not optional, and the courts are ready for those who treat it as such.