Mohammed Adjei Sowah addressing the media
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has expressed its readiness to support President Akufo-Addo in achieving his vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.
Addressing a press conference on Tuesday, the Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said achieving the president’s vision requires a clear change in policy, action plans, city cleaning approaches, enforcement mechanisms and attitudes.
On April 23, this year, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo declared his administration’s vision to make Accra the cleanest and most beautiful city in Africa.
His vision came against the backdrop of a 2015 joint report of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations which cited Accra as the 7th dirtiest city in Africa.
The mayor of Accra, Mr. Sowah, said the vision is to make the city of Accra cleaner and more beautiful than Nairobi, Kenya in East Africa, Johannesburg and Cape Town in South Africa and Port Louis in Mauritius.
The AMA boss explained that the first step to ridding the city of filth and pollution is to prevent waste generation at the sources.
“It is important that we shift our mindset and openly condemn undignified garbage disposal, including littering of streets, gutters and public places, open defecation, dumping of untreated effluent and industrial waste into the Odaw-Korle Lagoon and other water bodies and so forth,” he stressed.
According to him, in addition to being clean, stakeholders, including religious bodies, schools, non-governmental organizations, must ensure that Accra looks attractive at all times to give residents and visitors a sense of pride.
“To this end, we shall soon publish the Accra City Beautification Plan, which will lay out our action plans for promoting stunning architectural designs, urban landscaping, beautification of open spaces and tree planting activities, among others,” the mayor indicated.
Warning
According to him, in line with the president’s vision, existing sanitation bylaws in the metropolis “will be stringently enforced.”
He warned that “operating waste dumping sites without permit is illegal and there will be effective enforcement.”
Mr. Sowah assured, “We wish to assure the general public that all unapproved refuse heaps anywhere in the city will be evacuated and closed down permanently.”
He indicated that the assembly would construct a waste transfer station at Achimota very soon.
Appeals
The Mayor appealed to residents of Accra to report individuals who dump refuse indiscriminately, saying, “dedicated WhatsApp numbers: 0202464444 or 0202464411, are the hotlines for reporting and sending photographic evidence of fly tipping to AMA.
“City dwellers must be the watchdogs and ensure that undignified waste disposals are photographed and reported to AMA for immediate action.”
The AMA boss added, “It is time for us to rise to the challenge of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa. It is a realistic and achievable vision. But it is one that requires concerted efforts.”
By Melvin Tarlue