Prez Mahama leads national clean-up exercise, proposes monthly sanitation days

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday joined citizens at various locations across the Accra Metropolis to participate in the National General Cleaning Exercise, personally taking up a spade to help desilt a clogged drain at Tse Addo as part of efforts to improve environmental sanitation and reduce the risk of future flooding.

The two-day exercise, declared for Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, 2026, is being held across seven flood-affected regions — Greater Accra, Volta, Central, Western, Western North, Ashanti and Eastern — under the auspices of the Post-Flood Mitigation Committee. It forms part of the government’s broader response to the devastating June 29 floods, which claimed 34 lives and caused extensive damage to homes, businesses and public infrastructure.

President Personally Clears Choked Drain

Accompanied by Greater Accra Regional Minister Linda Ocloo and Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, President Mahama arrived at Tse Addo — one of the communities hardest hit by last month’s floods — where he received a briefing from local assembly officials before joining residents, security personnel and other stakeholders in clearing refuse and removing silt from drainage channels.

Addressing participants, the President expressed concern over the volume of silt and plastic waste extracted from the drain, noting that the accumulation was evidence of years of neglect.

“Look at the plastics we are taking out of it. Apart from that, the sand clearly did not happen in one year. It means this has been silted for so many years,” he said.

He cautioned against the practice of leaving dredged silt along roadsides after clean-up exercises, warning that rainfall often washes the debris back into drains, undoing the work that has been carried out.

“In this exercise, let’s make sure that after we take all this silt out, we bring enough capacity to transport it and dump it somewhere appropriate. If we are able to do this, for the next year or two, this drain will have enough capacity to carry the water through,” he noted.

‘Two Days Are Not Enough’ — President Proposes Monthly Clean-Up

President Mahama announced that the government is considering setting aside one day every month for a nationwide clean-up exercise, arguing that the current two-day exercise is insufficient to address the scale of sanitation challenges across the country.

“Two days are not enough to finish this work, but we are going to institute it so that at least one day every month all of us should come out and clean our surroundings,” he said at Alajo, where he later inspected drains as part of the exercise.

The President traced the proposal to traditional Ghanaian values, where communities took responsibility for maintaining clean environments, and suggested that urbanisation had weakened that sense of communal responsibility.

“That is what our traditional values were about. We are taught to keep a clean environment, but when we all leave our hometowns and come, because of the anonymity of urbanisation, we think that nobody watches us, so we dump those values and we live in filth,” he said.

‘Drains Are Not Garbage Instruments’

During an inspection of the Alajo drains, which form part of the Odaw stream, President Mahama warned Ghanaians against reckless dumping of waste into drains, expressing concern over items found — including silt, plastics, household waste, engine blocks, old furniture and even dining tables.

“One, we must change our attitudes and stop the reckless dumping of things into the drain. The drains are not garbage instruments. If you want to dispose of something, you know how to dispose of it,” the President said.

He reminded citizens about skip trucks placed at various locations across the city for proper waste disposal and urged residents to make use of designated waste disposal facilities.

“We have skip trucks that leave containers all over the city. Just go and throw your garbage into the skip, and the truck will come and pick it and take it where it has to take it,” he said.

Government Commits GH¢150 Million for Flood Mitigation

President Mahama disclosed that the Minister of Finance had released GH¢150 million to support flood mitigation efforts, including the dredging of streams and other drainage works.

He also announced that the military and other security services would continue dredging major waterways to improve the flow of water into wetlands, and that the government would procure additional specialised equipment, including backhoes, to remove and transport silt from drains.

“We must show that we are a resilient nation and we can bounce back even better,” he said, urging citizens not to adopt the attitude of the vulture that waits for the rain to stop before repairing its roof, only to neglect the task when the sun shines.

Nationwide Participation Across Seven Regions

The exercise, being held under the theme “Our Actions, Our Future: Cleaning Ghana After the Floods,” has seen participation from ministers, Members of Parliament, Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives, heads of state institutions and members of the public.

Friday’s activities were led by personnel from security agencies, MMDAs and waste management companies, while members of the public are expected to join on Saturday to scale up the exercise. Efforts are focused on desilting choked drains, sweeping and clearing sand, weeds and debris from roads, and cleaning public spaces including markets, lorry parks and recreational areas.

The President commended Ghanaians for their strong turnout and commitment to the exercise.

“I want to use this opportunity to thank all who have come out to help. Clearly, we can see what the cause of our problems is. Let me congratulate all Ghanaians. The turnout has been very good,” he said.

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