The Agona West Municipal Assembly has imposed a GH¢500 fine on shop and store operators who failed to participate in the two-day nationwide clean-up exercise.
The Assembly said the sanction was intended to serve as a deterrent and encourage compliance with sanitation regulations in the municipality.
As part of enforcement measures, a sanitation task force has been deployed to identify and mark shops and stores whose operators failed to participate in the exercise. The affected operators are expected to appear before the Assembly authorities to explain their absence.
Mr Eric Gyamfi Odoom, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Agona West, expressed concern that some traders in the central business district failed to take part in the exercise, despite being among the major generators of waste in the area.
He appealed to residents to stop indiscriminate dumping of refuse into gutters, on streets, in water bodies and at unauthorised public places.
Mr Odoom noted that the Assembly spent substantial sums of money on sanitation annually, resources that could otherwise be invested in development projects.
He, therefore, called for a change in attitude towards waste disposal and environmental cleanliness in the municipality.
The MCE urged residents to patronise the Assembly’s door-to-door refuse collection service to help maintain clean and healthy communities.
To further improve sanitation management, he said the Assembly was currently going through procurement processes to acquire refuse bins for placement at strategic locations in Swedru and other communities within the municipality.
Mr Odoom also tasked Assembly Members to work closely with chiefs, opinion leaders and members of tenants’ associations to ensure that their respective electoral areas remained clean.
He commended personnel of the Ghana Police Service, Ghana Immigration Service, Ghana National Fire Service, health workers, bankers, staff of the Births and Deaths Registry, traditional authorities and other stakeholders for their massive participation in the clean-up exercise.
Mr Mac Dzodzodzi, the Agona West Environmental Health and Sanitation Officer, said good sanitation practices largely depended on behavioural change.
He called on the public to adopt responsible waste management practices to help reduce the volume of waste generated daily in the municipality.
Mr Emmanuel Kwesi Lincoln, former National Democratic Congress (NDC) Chairman for Agona West, commended President John Dramani Mahama for initiating the nationwide exercise and lauded participants for their active involvement.
He urged residents, particularly shop and store operators, to stop sending errand boys to dispose of refuse indiscriminately, saying the practice often resulted in waste being dumped into gutters and other unauthorised places, thereby compounding sanitation challenges in the municipality.