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.