The Ashanti Regional Police Command says it will deploy officers to join in the national clean-up days every month.

Regional Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye says the idea falls in line with their own weekly clean-up exercises on Fridays at the various barracks and would therefore provide a platform for them to clean their barracks and also join the public to tidy up their surroundings.

“This means that every last Saturday of the month…we will also join fully in cleaning our environment and [also] join the populace in cleaning our cities,” DCOP Boakye told the media ahead of the national launch of the campaign scheduled for Friday, October 17.

He added: “Our core mandate is to maintain law and order and maintaining a clean environment is part of maintaining order so the police (Administration) is poised to an active part in this endeavor”.

Ashanti Regional Police Commander, DCOP Kofi Boakye.

According to the Commander, the success of the exercise could lead to a reduction in crime rate since most hardened criminals prefer to hide in unkempt environments popularly called ‘ghettos’.  

Therefore, clearing those places of filth will make it difficult for them to operate from such surroundings.

DCOP Kofi Boakye pleaded with the Local Government Ministry to collaborate with the Service and provide it with the requisite resources to sustain the programme.

“There must be effective collaboration between the police and the Metropolitan Municipal and District Assemblies [MMDAs]…This is the time for them to provide us with waste management trucks so that we can work in very a symbiotic association other than looking at the police as a force at a place to be used”.

Two traditional rulers, the Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II and the Okyehene Osagyefuo Amoatia Ofori Panin have separately affirmed their support for the exercise but called on the government to ensure that those who violated the environmental laws are punished accordingly to serve as a deterrent to others.

 

Ghana is currently reeling under the scourge of an outbreak of the cholera disease which has killed more than 170 people in about six months across the ten regions of the country.

Local Government Minister, Julius Debrah however believes the National Sanitation Day will help reduce cases of cholera and possibly, prevent a future outbreak in the country.

He said, with the National Sanitation Day, the first Saturday of every new month would be used to organize a nationwide clean-up exercise as a way of putting a brake on the cholera outbreak as well as helping to prevent future occurrence.

“Every Ghanaian would be encouraged to clean his or her environment on the first Saturday of every new month from 0600 to 1100 as a way to help control the cholera outbreak,” he said.