Mayor of Accra, Elizabeth Kwatsoe Sackey has urged women to champion a crusade against the dumping of refuse into drains which is a contributory factor to the perennial flooding in the city.

According to her, women play a pivotal role in maintaining cleanliness and hygiene in their communities and as primary cooks, caregivers, and shoppers among others, they must take up the responsibility of cleaning their environment by engaging in good sanitation practices and educating their households to improve sanitary conditions and hygiene in their various communities.

The Mayor of Accra said this at a workshop organised by the AMA and the Rotary Club in Accra to empower Queen mothers for sustainable community development as part of activities to mark the Queen Elizabeth’s 70th year as a Monarch and Head of the Commonwealth. 

"Women are crucial agents of change and I want to urge all women to make critical contributions, take charge of their immediate space and help us make Accra clean so we can all live in and love it", she said. 

Madam Sackey also used the occasion to launch a campaign to fight dumping of refuse in drains dubbed the #BolaInDrainsMustStopNow and stressed the need to empower and encourage women leaders in communities, especially Queen mothers who play key developmental roles in the society to help address societal challenges including sanitation and climate change as a whole. 

"We possess the ideas and leadership skills to solve them. We are built to take on challenges, and we have the influence to make that difference. From handling sanitation issues in our communities and areas of leadership to promoting child education and to assisting in our economic empowerment. We can make things better and its time to use all that influence and power to do these and more", she said. 

She expressed the AMA's commitment to work with women to bring solutions to the issues that plague communities with a focus on sanitation, transportation, energy, education, and security among others. 

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprise Agency in a presentation on equipping young women to be entrepreneurs to compete in the business sector admonished women to keep records of their business transactions and activities. 

President of the Greater Accra Market Women Association, who spoke to the media after the event said it was the responsibility of individuals and market women to clean the markets and dispose of their refuse properly. 

A member of the Queens Platinum Beacons Committee, PAG Jack Dotsey, said that the Rotary Club was committed to supporting sustainable community development adding that the program was aimed at empowering women as well as building the capacity of queen mothers to enhance their knowledge to foster development in the communities.