Mahama Calls for Monthly National Clean-Up to Tackle Flooding and Poor Sanitation

President John Dramani Mahama has called for a sustained national commitment to environmental sanitation, urging Ghanaians to dedicate at least one day every month to cleaning their communities to help prevent flooding.

Speaking during the nationwide clean-up exercise in Accra on Friday, July 10, the President said the country’s persistent flooding is largely caused by plastic waste and years of silt accumulation in drains.

According to him, the exercise revealed the extent of the sanitation challenge, with large amounts of plastic waste and silt being removed from drainage systems that had not been properly desilted for years.

“Barely we can see what the cause of our problem is. We’ve just desilted this, and look at the plastics that we are taking out of it. The sand clearly did not happen in one year. It means this has been silted for so many years, reducing the capacity of the drain to carry water,” President Mahama said.

He stressed that authorities must ensure the silt removed from drains is properly transported and disposed of, warning that leaving it by the roadside only allows rainwater to wash it back into the drains.

“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’re able to do this, these drains will have enough capacity to carry water for the next year or two,” he added.

President Mahama commended the large turnout of residents who participated in the exercise, describing it as encouraging.

He also announced that the Ghana Armed Forces and other security services would continue dredging major waterways to improve water flow and reduce the risk of flooding across the capital.

The President emphasized that the clean-up campaign should not be a one-off event but a continuous national effort.

“At least once a month, let’s set aside one day and all of us come out and clean the city. With the help of the waste management companies, we’ll be able to keep this city clean and also free of flooding.”

The nationwide clean-up exercise forms part of government efforts to improve sanitation and reduce the impact of flooding following recent heavy rains that affected several parts of the country.