AAPC's Response – 3rd October, 2026

The attention of the Asanteman Anti-Pollution Coalition (AAPC) has been drawn to a write-up under the pseudonym "Fellow Citizen" in defence of the Asante Akyem Central Municipal Assembly's failure to participate in the National Sanitation Day.

While we respect every citizen's right to opinion, we find the write-up not only misleading but an attempt to whitewash clear administrative negligence. We wish to respond as follows:

1. On Applauding the Assembly:

Fellow Citizen asks us to applaud previous exercises. AAPC has on countless occasions, on radio and in our clean-up campaigns, commended the Assembly and Mr. Simon Owusu's office when they acted. We applauded the clearing of the Odumase disposal site and the Konongo Low-Cost evacuations. Commendation is not perpetual – it must be earned per action. You do not applaud failure because you applauded success yesterday.

2. On Condemning Citizens for Low Participation:

It is intellectually dishonest to condemn citizens for apathy when the Assembly itself failed to invite them. You cannot condemn a congregation for not attending a church service that was never announced. Where was the communique? Where was the information van? Where was the announcement on Kings Radio, Virgin City, Divine Radio or Duapa FM, other local media? Citizens cannot participate in what they are not informed about. Mobilization is the primary duty of the Assembly.

3. On Government Communication:

Fellow Citizen claims government communication did not direct the Assembly but informed the public. This is false and a misreading of Act 936. The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs letter dated 22nd September 2026, copied to all MMDCEs, directed all Assemblies to lead, coordinate and report on the exercise. The National Sanitation Day is not a private activity for individuals in their homes; by policy, MMDAs are to lead communal cleaning, provide logistics and supervise. If it was for individuals only, why does every other Assembly – KMA, AMA, Obuasi, Bekwai – organise a central gathering?

4. On Our Posture Being Enemical:

Asking legitimate questions cannot be enemical. Section 40 of the Local Governance Act 936 encourages citizen participation and social accountability. We are not enemies of the Assembly; we are partners. An NGO that offers free support cannot be an enemy. What is enemical is defending filth and institutional failure.

5. On the Assembly's Commitment and "Strategic Focus":

Fellow Citizen admits that "periodic gathering at the Central Business District hasn't yielded result." That is exactly our point. If the old strategy has failed, what is the new strategy? Clearing disposal sites alone is not sanitation – it is waste collection. What about desilting choked gutters from Konongo Station to 2nd Low Cost? What about the Owere Stream? What about the refuse along the Konongo-Kumasi highway which has been there for 3 months? A strategic focus without a communicated plan is no strategy.

CONCLUSION:

Let Fellow Citizen understand this: AAPC is not against the MCE, Hon. Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Ekow Aidoo, nor the Assembly staff. We are against the system that normalizes "no measures put in place" for a national exercise.

If Fellow Citizen has energy to write to defend failure, we urge him to channel same energy to advise the Assembly to:

1. Issue a public apology for the lapse.
2. Within 14 days, publish its municipal sanitation action plan.
3. Fix a date for a special clean-up to make up for 3rd October lost opportunity.

We remain resolute. We will continue to be constructive, but constructive does not mean silent. Our loyalty is to a clean Asante Akyem and Asanteman, not to defending institutional lapses.

Konongo – 2nd October, 2026

The Asanteman Anti-Pollution Coalition (AAPC), a non-governmental organization committed to environmental cleanliness and public health in Asanteman, has noted with profound shock, utter dismay, absolute disappointment and total disapproval, the decision of the Asante Akyem Central Municipal Assembly not to take up the National Sanitation Exercise scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, 3rd October, 2026.

As President of the Coalition, I, Mr. Krobea Asante (Oman Doctor), upon receiving an official notification from Government Communications through my service provider MTN that tomorrow is National Sanitation Day, contacted the Environmental Health Department of the Assembly to enquire about arrangements put in place to embark on the exercise.

Surprisingly, Mr. Simon Owusu, Head of the Environmental Health Department, plainly told me that the Assembly had laid down no measures whatsoever to undertake the exercise. This response is not only shocking to AAPC, but will equally be shocking to the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Mahama Ayariga (MP), and to His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana.

We at AAPC wish to state unequivocally that the Assembly’s posture of doing nothing tomorrow is unacceptable, irresponsible, condemnable and regrettable.

We therefore call on the Asante Akyem Central Municipal Assembly to provide the following:

1. Why there has been no communique from the Assembly to the general public regarding the National Sanitation Day.
2. Reasons for the non-advertisement and non-publicity of the sanitation day and exercise through information vans, radio and community information centres.
3. Explain to AAPC and the entire citizenry of Asante Akyem Central why the Assembly did not consider it necessary to participate in a national call.
4. The Environmental Health Office should within Fourteen (14) working days, provide AAPC with a comprehensive update on the current filth situation in the municipality and a clear roadmap on how they intend to address it, having neglected this national exercise.

As President, I, Mr. Krobea Asante (Oman Doctor), deeply regret and express our utmost displeasure about this development.

Core Statutory Responsibilities

For the avoidance of doubt, we wish to remind the Assembly of its core statutory responsibilities under the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) and the National Sanitation Policy, which include:

1. Ensuring the overall cleanliness and environmental health of the municipality through regular clean-up exercises.
2. Enforcing sanitation bye-laws and prosecuting sanitation offenders.
3. Leading public education, sensitization and mobilization for communal labour and clean-up campaigns.
4. Coordinating with traditional authorities, NGOs, and identifiable groups to ensure effective waste management and disease prevention.

Elsewhere in Ghana, Environmental Health Officers do not relent. In the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA), La Nkwantanang-Madina, and the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, officers are on the ground at dawn, enforcing bye-laws, ensuring shops are closed until cleaning is done, and leading by example. Why should Asante Akyem Central be an exception?

The non-publicity, non-sensitization and non-participation in this exercise paints three silent but dangerous pictures to citizens:

1. That the Assembly itself does not value cleanliness and therefore citizens can continue with illicit and indiscriminate disposal of waste.
2. That national directives can be ignored with impunity, thereby weakening respect for local governance.
3. That the fight against cholera, malaria and other sanitation-related diseases is not a priority of the Assembly.

AAPC is not happy.

However, as a responsible non-governmental organization, we remain ready and willing to provide all necessary human, logistical and advocacy support to the Assembly to deliver on its mandate to make our communities clean.

We wish to caution that such inaction has the potential to hamper all the laudable developmental projects being carried out by the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Rev. Dr. Ebenezer Ekow Aidoo, whose efforts to uplift the municipality could be undermined by poor sanitation and its attendant health implications.

The National Sanitation Exercise has been duly communicated by central government. The Assembly cannot fail in this common fight which it ought to lead.

Tomorrow is the day. The Assembly should not let down His Excellency the President, the Ministry of Local Government, and the good people of Asante Akyem Central.

Thank you.

We at the Asanteman Anti-Pollution Coalition - AAPC have watched with concern the many viral videos on TikTok and other social media platforms following the nationwide clean-up exercise.

What we saw was painful. People caught dumping in waterways. Homes built on drains. Plastics choking our gutters. Entire settlements left in abject filth. And yet when corrected, some chose defiance over responsibility.

This exercise did not happen by accident. It came after President John Dramani Mahama declared 10th and 11th July 2026 as National Clean-Up Days, in direct response to the devastating floods of 29th June, 2026 in Accra. The message is clear: filth kills, and neglect costs lives.

To our Politicians, from Assembly Members to Parliamentarians and Ministers:

We urge you: Do not govern in fear of losing votes.

If you know what is best for the people of this country, then lead with courage. Lead with conviction. Lead with a firm hand where the law and public health demand it.

Yes, enforcing sanitation bye-laws will be unpopular. Yes, demolishing structures in waterways will attract threats. Yes, arresting those who pollute will cost political capital.

But we say this plainly: It is better to lose an election for fighting for people, places, and the planet, than to win by watching your people drown in filth and disease.

This is not about politics. This is about survival.

AAPC stands ready to Educate, to Enforce, and to Partner with any leader who chooses the hard but right path.

Let us not wait for another flood to act. Let us not wait for another outbreak to care.

The time to lead is now.