The Minister of State in charge of Government Communications, Felix Kwakye Ofosu, says the government's National General Cleaning Exercise will become a sustained initiative rather than a one-off response to the devastating floods that affected parts of the country.

According to him, the successful turnout and active participation by citizens during the first day of the nationwide exercise have encouraged President John Mahama to institutionalise the clean-up campaign as part of broader efforts to tackle flooding and improve environmental sanitation.

Speaking on Joy FM's Top Story on Friday, July 10, Mr Ofosu said significant progress had already been made in clearing choked drains and waterways across affected areas.

"We had the clean-up exercise today. Choked drains have been desilted all over the city. We saw people from all walks of life participating actively to ensure that we clean the environment, desilt our drains, and clear waterways so that the disaster that befell us does not reoccur," he said.

He noted that President Mahama was highly impressed by the public response and believes the exercise should evolve into a regular national activity.

"So the President is highly impressed, and this is part of the reason why he believes that it should not be a one- or two-day event. It should not be a flash in the pan. It should be a sustained activity which can incrementally address some of the environmental problems we've had with flooding in the city and elsewhere," he added.

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Mr Ofosu also dismissed claims that the clean-up exercise was merely a knee-jerk reaction to the June 29 floods.

He argued that the government has a responsibility to respond decisively to natural disasters while also taking steps to prevent future occurrences.

"Unfortunately, those criticisms are not founded. The government has to respond when there's a disaster. Before the disaster, we managed waste as part of our daily responsibilities as a country, although there may be lapses that we can correct going forward," he said.

He explained that the scale of the recent flooding required extraordinary interventions, including emergency relief and long-term mitigation measures.

According to him, the government has committed GH¢350 million towards flood response efforts, with part of the allocation used to procure and distribute relief items to affected communities, while the remaining funds will support post-flood mitigation projects.

"Those mitigation measures, of which today's and tomorrow's exercises form part, are necessary to open waterways that have been clogged as a result of the heavy downpour and subsequent flooding.

"They are also intended to ensure that the effects do not linger and, most importantly, that such disasters do not recur," he stated.

The Abura Asebu-Kwamankese Member of Parliament stressed that describing the exercise as a knee-jerk reaction was unfair, insisting that it represents a logical and necessary response to one of the country's recent environmental disasters.

"I don't see how a logical response by government to a disaster can be described as a knee-jerk reaction. It would have been untenable for the government to turn a blind eye and refuse to carry out the exercises currently ongoing, some of which are being led by the 48 Engineers Regiment and other state officials. It is in order. It is not knee-jerk. It is a logical response," he said.

The two-day National General Cleaning Exercise is being held across seven regions affected by the June 29 floods as part of the government's post-flood recovery and mitigation strategy.