The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has announced that the first National Sanitation Day (NSD) exercise for 2026 will be held across the metropolis on Saturday, January 10, 2026, starting from 6:00 a.m. and continuing until the clean-up is completed.
According to the Assembly in a statement issued on Wednesday, the exercise, which was initially scheduled for Saturday, January 3, 2026, was postponed to make way for the Christmas and New Year trading activities in the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra.
The AMA described the first NSD for the year as strategic and urgent, explaining that it comes immediately after a period of heightened commercial activity, increased waste generation and added pressure on the city’s sanitation infrastructure.
The statement added that in line with a presidential directive and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (Communal Labour) Bye-Laws, 2017, enacted pursuant to Section 181 of the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936), all shops, markets and business premises were required to remain closed from 6:00 a.m. until the exercise was completed to enable full public participation in communal labour.
The Assembly said cleansing activities for the day would focus on desilting and cleaning drains, sweeping streets and lanes, and removing unauthorised banners and posters, as well as undertaking general clean-up operations in markets, lorry parks and other public spaces.
The statement signed by the Head of Public Affairs at the AMA, Mr Gilbert Nii Ankrah, said the operation would cover all electoral areas, communities, markets and the CBD, with intensified work planned at selected key locations, including the Cable and Wireless enclave in Okaikoi South, Agbogbloshie Market and its surroundings, and the Central Business District.
The AMA said it would deploy Public Health Officers, popularly known as “Sama-Sama”, along with the Sanitation Taskforce, sweepers and janitors across all sub-metros, supported by the necessary logistics and equipment to facilitate desilting, refuse collection and safe disposal of waste at approved sites.
The Assembly reminded the public that failure to comply with the sanitation directive or refusal to participate in communal labour constitutes an offence, punishable on summary conviction by a fine of up to 100 penalty units or imprisonment for a term of not less than 30 days and not more than six months, or both, adding that continuing offenders may be subject to additional daily penalties.
The AMA urged residents, traders, transport operators, market women, shop owners, landlords, tenants and other business entities to take part in the exercise by cleaning their immediate surroundings, ensuring drains in front of their premises are properly desilted, keeping markets, lorry parks, beaches and business frontages clean and cooperating with AMA officers and the Sanitation Taskforce throughout the exercise.
By: Rainbowradioonline.com/Ghana
