The Minister-Designate for the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has attributed the unsightly conditions of Accra on the careless behaviors of Ghanaians.
Responding to a question about the progress of the president’s initiative to make Accra the cleanest city and what she will do to continue with the initiative, Madam Alhassan explained that the poor sanitation situation in the capital stems from societal attitudes rather than infrastructural deficiencies.
“I will say that it is not really about the president, it is about us, it is about Ghanaians, our attitude towards cleaning Accra. Provisions have been made, all the infrastructure and investments have been provided and what we have is attitudinal.
“The persons to ensure that we keep our environment and workplaces clean is us. We must all join in this noble course to achieve the purpose of the targets that the president has set not only for himself but for us all,” she told Parliament’s Appointments Committee on Tuesday, March 5, 2024.
A Recap of President Akufo-Addo’s Promise:
In April 2017, President Nana Akufo-Addo vowed to elevate Accra to the status of the cleanest city in Africa by the conclusion of his term.
This pledge came amidst escalating sanitation woes in the capital, prompting skepticism from some quarters about its feasibility.
Acknowledging the complexity of the task, the then Sanitation Minister Cecilia Dapaah extended the deadline for achieving the clean city agenda from the initial 2020 target to 2024.
Read also: The Irony Of Sanitation In Accra