Citizens of Tema cleaning a part of the Tema Motorway
The Tema Metropolis yesterday kick started its preparations towards the hosting of the Capital’s 66th Independence Day celebration with the ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ exercise.
The cleaning exercise, saw members of the 29 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), the City Response Team, NADMO and other governmental agencies participating in the clean-up activities.
More than 650 security personnel including the police service, military force, and Navy force were present to ensure active participation from the citizens. 24 compassion trucks as well as a large number of brooms, shovels, wheelbarrows and other cleaning tools were also dispersed for the participants to use.
The Tema Municipality was divided into 14 zones across Tema central, Kpong-Katamanso, Ashiaman, and Tema West.
Mayor of Tema, Yohane Amarh Ashitey expressed his zeal about the event and his hope that the people of Tema will comply with the ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ By-laws.
He also highlighted that a target area of the exercise was the beginning of the Tema Motorway from Accra as many pick-up trucks have blocked the toll booth area and caused the place to look unpresentable.
MP for Tema Central, Yves Hanson-Nortey was present and called on the people of Tema to maintain the zeal for cleanliness, even after the 66th Independence Day celebration.
“We as a people are responsible for the cleaning up of our frontages because it is the collective clean up that will make Tema and Accra shine again. This operation is coming at a cost we could have avoided if we had taken the cleaning up of our neighbourhood as our own responsibilities,” he pressed.
Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey also made his way to various parts of the Tema enclave to monitor the activities of the people. He thanked participants of the exercise and called on business owners who were selling near gutters and had not cleaned their frontages, to join the exercise.
“Today we are cleaning Tema in preparation for Ghana’s 66th anniversary, ‘Operation Clean Your Frontage’ by-laws dictate that everyone should clean their immediate perimeters and for you the gutter is a part of your perimeter,” he said.
By Abigail Atinuke Seyram Adeyemi