Government To Relaunch National Sanitation Day

The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, has disclosed that the government will relaunch the National Sanitation Day (NSD) on 6th September 2025, under the “Clean Up Ghana Agenda”.

He disclosed this earlier today in a press briefing in Accra.

The National Sanitation Day was first launched in 2014, and its reintroduction serves as a renewed social contract between government and citizens, anchored on accountability, enforcement, and sustainability.

He said poor sanitation was not just a matter of inconvenience and poor aesthetic beauty in our cities and towns, but also one of the biggest threats to the dignity, safety, and well-being of our citizens.

He indicated that the introduction of the NSD in 2014 proved that the government can create healthier and cleaner communities when citizens, assemblies, traditional leaders, and civil society work together.

According to the Minister, the relaunch of NSD has three clear objectives. That is, “To restore discipline and pride in public spaces because a clean environment is a necessity for public health and national dignity.

To empower and mobilise local government structures. With sanitation now fully integrated as a Key Performance Indicator (KPI) for MMDCEs, assemblies must take ownership and leadership in ensuring sustainable cleanliness.

To foster citizen participation and accountability as the success of this laudable initiative rests on the active involvement of all stakeholders like households, communities, civil societies, the private sector, and the media,” he explained.

The minister directed the MMDCEs to clear all public spaces, ceremonial streets, and visible nuisances within their jurisdictions by 8:00 a.m. every day, beginning September 4, 2025.

He said the directive should be sustained in all Assemblies. Adding that, the first six months will serve as a performance benchmark during which Assemblies will be required to progressively shorten the timeframe for removal of the nuisances stated.

‘By the end of this period, Assemblies must sustainably demonstrate that unsightly scenes of filth have been eliminated,” he added.

He said the assemblies must prioritise the desilting of drains, the removal of waste heaps, and the regular cleansing of ceremonial routes, markets, lorry stations, schools, and public spaces.

He urged the assemblies to mobilise and deploy their environmental health officers, waste management officers, private waste service providers, community volunteers and the citizens to sustain the compliance of this directive.

Mr Ahmed noted that 80% of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund has been released to the Assemblies.

“With this, I am convinced that Districts will now have the required resources to undertake their critical environmental sanitation functions, to keep our cities and towns clean at all times,” he stated.

Grace Acheampong, ISD