President John Dramani Mahama has announced that government would im­plement a new performance assessment framework for Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMD­CEs) across the country."This framework will incorporate stringent environmental sanitation indica­tors to ensure that the Chief Executives prioritise and invest in environmental sanitation services within their areas of jurisdiction as pledged in our manifesto," President Mahama stated, adding that government would not hesitate to fire any Chief Executive who slept on the job.He made this known in Accra on Sat­urday when he relaunched the National Sanitation Day (NSD) initiative with a passionate call on the citizenry to join hands in keeping Ghana clean.The success of the Day, President Ma­hama noted, rests on the collective efforts of all citizens irrespective of political affiliation or social status."The National Sanitation Day is a call to action; an opportunity for each of us, regardless of our political affiliation, social standing, ethnicity, or religious be­liefs, to unite in keeping our surroundings clean," he stated.To be observed on the first Saturday of every month, the Day feeds into government's 'Clean Up Ghana' agenda; designed to foster a culture of environ­mental responsibility, improve public health and enhance the aesthetic beauty of cities and communities.The initiative was first introduced in September 2014 in the first John Mahama administration, but fizzled out following the change of government in 2017.According to President Mahama, the adage 'cleanliness is next to Godliness' resonates with all religious sects and same must be practicalised in the everyday life of the Ghanaian."You cannot be a Godly person if you live in filth.

You cannot be a Godly per­son if you are not clean," he emphasized.The African traditional practice, the President said, holds dearly the culture of cleanliness; a trait he noted has been diluted by modernisation, unfortunately, but "modernisation does not mean that we should abandon our value systems."As part of measures to sustain the cleanliness agenda, he said government was considering a subject to be fused into the curriculum on courtesy and respon­sible citizenship, so as to inculcate in the younger generation the need to keep their surroundings clean.Aside public awareness, he said there was the need for punishment to deter people from littering and called for close collaboration between the Chieftaincy institution and the Assemblies to fashion out disciplinary measures at the lowest unit."I entreat all Ghanaians to take own­ership of this initiative.

Let us make the National Sanitation Day a true celebration of our commitment to a cleaner, healthier and more sustainable Ghana.

Together, we can build a nation that future gener­ations will be proud of; a nation where cleanliness and environmental responsi­bility will be part of our everyday life," he rallied.The President also made a presenta­tion of equipment, including 200 wheel barrows, shovels, brushes, brooms, gloves, amongst others, to a volunteer group, Buzstop Boys, to encourage the spirit of volunteerism in the country.On his part, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ahmed Ibrahim, said beyond clean-up exercises, the campaign would promote behavioural change through public education on waste segregation, re-use, recycling and enforcement of sanitation bye-laws.A dedicated hotline, he said, would be established to enable citizens to report public cleansing nuisances directly to the Ministry for action, as well as a central dashboard to track reports, respons­es, and performance of Assemblies to ensure real-time supervision and national oversight.Throwing the support of the Chief­taincy institution behind the initiative, the President of the National House of Chiefs, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II, said the initiative was timely as sanitation affected all sectors of national life.The revival of the Day, Ogyeahohoo Yaw Gyebi II noted was a call to awaken the dormant communal spirit and make a bold statement that sanitation was not the duty of government nor district assemblies alone but the duty of every Ghanaian.The President of the Ghana Journal­ists Association, Albert Dwumfour, also pledged the readiness of the Ghanaian media to support the initiative by provid­ing the space for dialogue on sanitation issues and its benefits to the country. BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI🔗 Follow Ghanaian Times WhatsApp Channel today.