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Some persons with disabilities sweeping during the NSD in Sunyani.

Hundreds take part in National Sanitation Day in Sunyani

Hundreds of volunteers and social groups within the Sunyani metropolis last Saturday undertook a massive clean-up exercise to mark the 10th edition of the National Sanitation Day (NSD).

The event, which is marked on the first Saturday of every month, saw participants dispose of refuse and other waste materials around the city and its environs.

Aside from the residents, members of the various security agencies, workers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited and persons with disabilities (PWDs) were present to support the exercise.

All private and public businesses - as well as commercial activities - in and around the city, excluding hospitals and other life-saving institutions, were closed from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. as residents joined in the clean-up exercise.

Support commendable

Addressing participants after the clean-up exercise which climaxed his 10-day environmental sensitisation tour of the region, the Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, described the involvement of the persons with disabilities  as unique and a commendable show of patriotism.

"The participation of the members of the PWDs is unique, as they did not only show presence but effectively engaged in the exercise in any way they could," he said.

The way forward

Alhaji Dauda said the ministry would not recycle the exercise but would rather collaborate with the various regional co-ordinating councils (RCCs) to sensitise the people and organise the national exercise after which the District Chief Executives (DCEs) would also take it down to the communities.

That, he said, was intended to sustain the national exercise, adding, "We want to get to a point where nobody will remind anybody to clean his or her environment. That is the standard we want to set. That is the mark we want to leave and a legacy that the government would want to leave for the next generation."

Alhaji Dauda also commended the support of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) and other organisations that donated waste bins and other sanitary equipment towards the national exercise.

He reminded the DCEs to place waste bins at vantage points in the region for use, saying: "The waste bins are not store materials."

Bring back communal days

In his address, the Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr Eric Opoku, lauded the support of the residents in the region toward the exercise.

He said the region had always been known as one of the cleanest in the country and "we will do all we can to uphold the adage that has been attached to the region over the years".

Mr Opoku urged the residents to continue to clean their environment in order to avert the outbreak of diseases such as cholera in the region.

The Paramount Chief of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Bosoma Asor Nkrawiri II, appealed to the residents to uphold the sacred days that were instituted by the forefathers of the land.

"Sacred days are not fetish days but rather days allocated by our ancestors for communal activities for the benefit of the people," he said.

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