Mr Roland Atanga Ayoo, Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Bolgatanga, has called on traditional rulers, faith-based organisations, market associations, and residents to join hands in a collective fight against poor sanitation in the municipality.
He said sanitation challenges could not be solved by government alone, stressing that community involvement was crucial to restoring Bolgatanga’s reputation as one of Ghana’s cleanest towns.
“Cleanliness is for all; it is not for individuals. Any disease that results from filth has no respect for persons — it can affect a doctor, an engineer, a food seller, or an MCE,” Mr Ayoo told journalists after inspecting a refuse disposal site outside the municipality.
The MCE has intensified engagements with churches, mosques, and traditional authorities to mobilise support, describing sanitation as a shared responsibility that demanded active participation from every segment of society.
He explained that recent heavy rains had worsened refuse disposal, leaving trucks unable to access dump sites and causing smaller vehicles to resort to indiscriminate dumping. To address this, municipal authorities cleared blocked access routes, allowing for easier evacuation of waste.
Alongside these interventions, Mr Ayoo announced the creation of a Sanitation Task Force, which would design strategies and enforce by-laws to ensure lasting results. But he stressed that enforcement alone would not be enough without the cooperation of residents.
“The task force will work, but the most important thing is community commitment. If every household and every institution takes sanitation seriously, Bolgatanga will remain neat, sanitized, and a safe place for all,” he said.
Mr Ayoo assured residents that with combined efforts from authorities and the public, Bolgatanga could once again become a model city for hygiene and environmental cleanliness in Ghana.
