All shops and markets in the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra are expected to remain closed from 6 am to 12 noon on Saturday, July 13, 2024.

This is to make way for the Homowo clean-up exercise initiated by the Ga Traditional Council (GTC), led by the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II.

The clean-up campaign, dubbed “Homowo clean-up campaign, is being organised in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council (GARCC), the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation, and Rural Development, the Ministry of Interior, Local Government Authorities, and Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

The Head of Public Affairs at the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Gilbert Nii Ankrah reiterated the closure of shops in an interview with the media during yesterday's clean-up exercise at Avenor and the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange enclave.

He said so far Sempe, Gbese, Abola, Asere, Dogo Beach, Otublohum, Akumanjen, Ngleshie, and June 4th Market, had been cleaned; adding that sustaining the cleanliness would depend mainly on residents.

He said the clean-up exercise aims at enhancing environmental cleanliness across the city and transforming Accra into one of the cleanest cities in Africa.

"Within the AMA, all shops and businesses in and around Makola, Okaishie, Kantamanto, Rawlings Park, CMB, as well as Korle Gonno and Korle Bu are required to remain closed on Saturday for the exercise."

He mentioned that businesses exempted from the closure were pharmaceutical and health facilities, as well as financial institutions; stressing that this was to ensure the safety and efficiency of the clean-up activities and facilitate the full participation of all stakeholders.

He called on residents, departments, agencies, corporate organisations, businesses, market leaders, transport unions, opinion leaders, teachers, and students within the jurisdiction to come out in their numbers with their tools to help clean the area in compliance with the AMA Sanitation, Cleaning, and Communal Labour Bye-laws 2017.

He pointed out that the exercise would be strictly enforced by the Environmental Health Officers, and residents who failed to partake would be sanctioned in accordance with the bye-laws.