The Tema Metropolitan Assembly (TMA) has announced an ambitious urban renewal campaign aimed at restoring the city’s image and reclaiming its status as Ghana’s model industrial metropolis. The plan includes a two-day citywide sanitation and beautification exercise, the removal of unauthorized structures, and the zoning of key areas as protected security corridors.
Speaking at a stakeholders’ meeting held in Tema, the Metropolitan Chief Executive, Madam Ebi Bright, said the initiative was part of the Assembly’s broader goal to “bring back the shine of Tema” through sustained enforcement and community partnership.
She revealed that the TMA had designated the premises of schools, hospitals, security installations, government offices, and utility corridors as security zones, where temporary structures such as kiosks and containers would no longer be tolerated.
“No kiosks, containers, or makeshift structures will be permitted along fence walls, buffer zones, or access routes to these facilities,” Madam Bright stated. “We want to reclaim public spaces and beautify them with plants to enhance the city’s image.”
She explained that enforcement would begin immediately, with structures in restricted zones being identified and removed. Offenders, she warned, would be served with legal notices and surcharged if they failed to comply.
“We are urging all those affected to remove their structures voluntarily,” she cautioned. “If the Assembly has to do it for you, we will recover the cost and, where necessary, initiate prosecution.”
The MCE said the exercise was not just about enforcement but also about changing the mindset of residents toward sanitation and urban order. She therefore appealed to traditional and religious leaders to educate their followers and help instill discipline in the city.
The stakeholders’ meeting — attended by traditional authorities, clergy, departmental heads, and community leaders — discussed a wide range of urban challenges, including sanitation, unauthorized siting of kiosks, and poor waste management.
Madam Bright announced that Tema would observe an expanded two-day sanitation campaign from October 31 to November 1, 2025, ahead of the national sanitation day.
The first day, she said, would focus on enforcement and demolition — clearing temporary structures erected in prohibited areas and those built after the July 21, 2025, ban on such structures.
On the second day, the Assembly would lead a deep-cleaning and beautification exercise, beginning at the historic Republic School, home to one of Tema’s last remaining ancestral gourd trees. Activities will also include streetlight repairs, infrastructure touch-ups, and landscaping of public spaces.
According to the MCE, the initiative reflects TMA’s renewed commitment to building a cleaner, safer, and greener city.
“Tema was once known as the city of order and beauty,” she said. “We are determined to make it so again — not by words, but by action.”
The announcement has been widely welcomed by community leaders, who have pledged their cooperation to ensure the success of the campaign and the long-term transformation of the metropolis.
