Employees of GCB Bank PLC's Salaga Branch have organised a cleanup exercise at the Salaga Market in the East Gonja Municipality, clearing accumulated refuse and overgrown vegetation while donating waste bins to support improved sanitation and better waste management practices.
The initiative forms part of the bank's Staff Community Impact Programme, an employee-led corporate social responsibility programme through which more than 4,500 employees, working in 95 teams, are implementing 95 community projects across Ghana. The programme seeks to address pressing community needs and positively impact up to one million Ghanaians through interventions in areas such as health, education, sanitation, environmental sustainability and community wellbeing.
The project was undertaken by the Salaga Branch team, which identified sanitation challenges around the market through staff observations and engagement with local stakeholders. The team observed that accumulated waste and uncontrolled vegetation were affecting the cleanliness of the market and potentially increasing public health risks.
To improve conditions, employee volunteers swept sections of the market, removed refuse and cleared unwanted vegetation from surrounding areas. In addition, waste bins were strategically placed at key locations within the market to encourage proper waste disposal and help maintain a cleaner environment.
The intervention is expected to benefit traders, shoppers and the wider Salaga community by promoting improved sanitation practices and raising awareness about the importance of keeping public spaces clean and healthy.
Speaking on the significance of the programme, the Chief Marketing, Communications and Customer Experience Officer of GCB Bank, Mrs Cynthia Eyram Ofori-Dwumfuo, said it empowers employees to actively contribute to solving challenges within their communities. "SCIP provides our employees with a platform to make a meaningful difference in the communities where they live and work. By contributing their time, ideas and resources to practical interventions, they help extend GCB Bank's impact beyond banking services and support sustainable community development," she said.
The Tamale Zonal Manager, Mr Seidu Ibrahim, said the team was motivated by the need to address a visible sanitation challenge within the municipality. "A clean market benefits everyone who works, trades and shops there. We wanted to contribute to creating a healthier and more welcoming environment for the community while encouraging responsible waste disposal practices," he said.
Receiving the waste bins on behalf of the East Gonja Municipal Assembly, the Coordinating Director, Mr Mahamadu Kamara Alhassan, expressed appreciation to GCB Bank and the Salaga Branch team for supporting efforts to improve sanitation in the municipality. He noted that the intervention would complement the Assembly's ongoing initiatives to promote proper waste management and maintain cleaner public spaces.
Beyond the cleanup exercise, the project is intended to foster a stronger sense of community ownership and responsibility for sanitation. Through continued public education, regular monitoring and the proper use of the donated waste bins, the initiative is expected to contribute to more sustainable waste management practices around the market.
The Salaga Market Cleanup Project is the twenty-third of 95 projects being implemented by GCB Bank employees across Ghana, reflecting the bank's commitment to creating positive and lasting impact in communities nationwide.
The Staff Community Impact Programme is GCB Bank's nationwide employee-led community impact initiative, bringing together more than 4,500 employees across 95 groups to undertake 95 community projects across Ghana from August to September 2026. The projects address needs across healthcare, education, water and sanitation, social protection, environmental sustainability, youth development, community safety and infrastructure, with the collective interventions aimed at positively impacting up to one million lives.
Through the programme, GCB employees contribute their time, skills, resources and collective effort to support communities and strengthen a culture of volunteerism across the bank.