President John Dramani Mahama has commended journalists in the Northern Region for taking up the challenge to champion the cause of cleanliness in the region. President said journalists' work is not only reporting on other people's work but other people must also report about them.
The President said, with journalist taking up the challenge of clean environment, government's initiative on ensuring that the country is free of filth will be achieved.
President Mahama was addressing journalists and security personnel at the Tamale Teaching Hospital, after they have cleaned the Tamale Central Hospital to mark the 4th edition of National Sanitation Day exercise.
The clean-up exercise was organized by the Northern Region chapter of Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) with support from the National Lotto Authority (NLA).
The NLA provided one thousand two hundred Ghana Cedis and 100 NLA branded T-Shirts for the exercise.
The Zoomlion Ghana, a waste management company limited also provided hand gloves and other protective equipments to the GJA.
President Mahama who make a stop to on his way to Yendi to officially cut sod for work to commence on the eastern corridor road project reminded Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives on the need to implement the sanitation by-laws .
He said the implementation of sanitation by-laws will be a performance criterion in renewing their mandates as MMDCES when their turnure of office has ended.
The MMDCEs are empowered to implement the by-laws and must implement the sanitation by-laws because there are sanitation courts and sanitary officers in their respective jurisdictions, president Mahama stated.
He lamented about people lukewarm attitude towards cleaning not only inside their houses but also around.
The President commended NLA for supporting GJA and urged other corporate entities to support associations such as GJA on the National Sanitation Day exercise.
The president described as unfortunate the effects of urbanization which has change people when they move from their village settings to urban areas, it is as if they leave their cultural identities they grew up with behind and because their anonymous in an urban contest the values that they learnt is abandon.
The GJA chairman, Caesar Abagali assured the president that its members will continue to government initiatives gear at improving the lives of the people.
Mr Abagali appealed to the president to bring back the 'Samasama' or sanitary inspectors to facilitate the clean-up exercise in the various communities.
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