The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, on Saturday, September 5, 2026 joined the Mayor of Accra, Hon. Michael Kpakpo Allotey, and traders at Tudu to sweep the streets to mark the September edition of the National Sanitation Day (NSD) in the capital.

The exercise, which formed part of an inspection tour by the Minister and the Mayor to assess the level of participation and compliance among traders and businesses, began at the Kinbu Traffic Light and proceeded through Tudu and other principal streets within the metropolis.

During the inspection, Mayor Allotey briefed the Minister on the level of compliance recorded among traders. He explained measures being pursued by the Assembly to sustain cleanliness in the Central Business District beyond the monthly sanitation exercise.

At Tudu, Hon. Ayariga, who was encouraged by the level of participation, took a broom from one of the traders and personally swept a section of the street to demonstrate the level of cleanliness expected from residents and businesses.

The Minister and the Mayor also picked up pieces of litter they encountered along the route, underscoring their call for sanitation to be treated as a shared responsibility.

Addressing traders during the inspection, Mayor Allotey commended them for cleaning their surroundings but urged them to sustain the standard throughout the working day.

Mayor Allotey told the traders that the Minister had personally joined the exercise to observe how residents and businesses were taking responsibility for their surroundings and to encourage them to maintain the level of cleanliness exhibited during the exercise.

He said NSD had come to stay and encouraged traders to regularly sweep their immediate surroundings at least every hour to sustain the cleanliness.

The Mayor said maintaining clean trading spaces would help protect the health of both traders and customers, stressing that people should not have to spend the income they earned treating illnesses that could have been prevented through proper sanitation and good environmental practices.

He also disclosed that additional public waste bins were expected to be introduced in the city as part of measures to promote sustainable waste management and make it easier for residents and traders to dispose of refuse appropriately.

Hon. Ayariga later joined the Ayawaso East Municipal Assembly to observe the exercise in parts of Nima and Mamobi, where he interacted with residents and encouraged them to clean their surroundings regularly to sustain cleanliness.