The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, has commissioned thousands of young people made up of officials from various local assemblies and security officers to enforce by-laws on sanitation and maintain discipline in the region.
At a short ceremony held at Independence Square, he tasked the team to work diligently towards a cleaner and more organized region.
Operation Clean Your Frontage is a response to concerns about filth engulfing most parts of Accra.
The government is set to ensure the enforcement of the sanitation bye-laws with the roll-out of this project which was launched in 2021 by President Akufo-Addo.
Henry Quartey, while addressing the press at the Independence Square, said the exercise is not meant to deprive petty traders and street hawkers of their livelihoods but to ensure their safety.
He said the exercise seeks to nip in the bud the growing indiscipline in Accra.
“It is not to deprive those who help us in the informal sector of their livelihoods. This exercise is rather going to ensure their security and wellbeing. Lawlessness and indiscipline are beginning to take over the region, and we want all of us to get involved to ensure that we create the right environment. People travel out on holidays, and they walk around on the grass, and as they go to countries where systems work and citizens respect the laws they see the difference. Why can’t we do that in our country?” he asked.
He added that as part of efforts to sustain the exercise, financial clearance has been secured for the recruitment and training of some 3,500 young people who will in the coming weeks be deployed to implement the by-laws of local assemblies.
“This is the capital city, this is a cosmopolitan city, and we have to make sure that this works. We have clearance from the Ministry of Finance, we are recruiting close to 3,500 people to be trained and deployed onto the streets to ensure strict adherence, compliance, and implementation of the by-laws,” he said.
Meanwhile, residents of Accra who violate the by-laws of Operation Clean Your Frontage are liable to a six-month jail term or will be made to pay a fine.
The necessary by-laws have been introduced and gazetted by the 29 Assemblies in the Greater Accra Region to enable the lawful implementation of the initiative.
The Municipal Environmental Health Officer of Ablekuma West, Samuel Tettey, said: “When you are taken to court, you are either fined or imprisoned or both. For cleanliness, we are looking at the fact that the whole compound is devoid of filth, particulate matter, heaps of refuse, or anything that is unsightly”.
