Mumford (C/R), Feb. 11, GNA - Ghanaians have been urged to see the cleaning of their environments as a routine duty, which needed no compulsion by anyone.

Ms Joyce Aidoo, Gomoa West District Chief Executive, gave the advice at a cleanup exercise at Mumford, on Tuesday, in line with President Mills' directive to the assemblies, to organise the people to clean their communities. "Ghana must operate in a clean environment to attract investors," she said during the exercise. She pointed out that good health promoted increased productivity and added that majority of diseases could be prevented by observing personal and environmental hygiene. Ms Aidoo said the assembly would ensure that each community set aside one of their 'taboo days' for a cleanup exercise. "People who absent themselves from participating in such exercise without tangible reasons would be sanctioned," she cautioned.

Ms Comfort Morgan, District Information Officer, noted with concern that some homeowners did not allow their tenants to use toilet facilities provided for the house. She said the situation contributed to the indiscriminate defecating in the communities.

Mr Raphael Numon, District Environmental Health Officer, said his staff would intensify the prosecution of sanitary offenders in the courts and appealed to chiefs, queen mothers and opinion leaders to desist from pleading on behalf of the offenders. At a similar exercise in communities within the Mfantseman Municipality, Mr Sampson Amoako Kwarteng, Municipal Coordinating Director, appealed to the people to take good care of the environment, which God had entrusted into our care. "We shall one day account for how we protected things God entrusted into our care," he said.

Mr Kwarteng described the President's directive as timely, since cholera usually associated with the rainy season, had surfaced at this time of the year in some parts of the country. He appealed to people in the coastal communities and market centres to be conscious about sanitation to enable their products to be acceptable to the consuming public. The coordinating director expressed gratitude to Zoomlion, a sanitation company, Gloria Waters, and Mapouka Company, both producers of sachet water and Frimps Oil Company, for donating towards the success of the exercise. He appealed to citizens and companies operating in the area to provide tools and materials to support the assembly to sustain the exercise.

Mr Patrick Saah-Mensah, Environmental Health Officer at Mankessim, where a massive exercise took place, commended Mr Robert Quainoo-Arthur, the Municipal Director and heads of departments for actively participating in the exercise.