National Clean-up Exercise Day 2: ‘We will follow up and collect all garbage left by roadsides’ — Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has assured Ghanaians that the government will ensure waste removed from drains during the ongoing National Clean-up Exercise is promptly collected, stressing that leaving debris by roadsides defeats the purpose of the exercise.

Speaking during an inspection of clean-up activities at Alajo in Accra on the second day of the National Clean-up Exercise on Saturday, July 11, 2026, the President said the government had learnt lessons from previous sanitation exercises where waste extracted from drains was left unattended and eventually washed back into the drainage system.

“We will follow up and collect all the garbage by the roadside,” President Mahama said, explaining that the exercise would not end with desilting drains but would include the proper disposal of all waste removed from them.

He noted that one of the key directives he issued after the first day of the exercise was to ensure that refuse cleared from gutters is transported away immediately to prevent it from being washed back into the drains during subsequent rainfall.

“Yesterday, one of the directives I gave was that in the past, we did these clean-ups, we took all the garbage out of the gutters, but we didn’t follow up and come and collect the garbage that is by the roadside. And so when the rain falls, it just washes all the dirt back in,” he said.

The President also appealed to residents to actively support the nationwide clean-up campaign, describing public participation as essential to restoring Accra after the recent floods.

Reflecting on the exercise, he praised the strong turnout recorded over the two days but encouraged those who had not yet joined the campaign to do so.

“I want all of us to remember that today is day two of the national cleaning exercise. Yesterday the turnout was fantastic, very good. People came out and helped to clean their neighbourhoods. Today the turnout is also good, but I’m just calling on those who are still in their houses and haven’t come out. Please come out and come and join us so that we clean the city after the flood,” he said.

President Mahama expressed confidence that Accra would recover from the devastation caused by the floods through sustained collective action and responsible sanitation practices.

“I want to thank everybody who’s come out. And those who are still at home, all of you come out. We are doing this together, and Ghana is a resilient country, Accra is a resilient city, and we’ll bounce back better than before,” he added.