Activities in the Ashanti Regional Capital of Kumasi on Saturday morning came to a halt as many people across the Metropolis braced the National Sanitation Day (NSD) by cleaning their various environments.

The exercise is to promote good sanitary practices in our immediate environments and change the attitudes of the citizenry against indiscriminate disposal of garbage.

It is also to instill the habit of cleanliness in citizens to promote safe environments and good public health.

The clean-up exercise, which lasted for more than four hours took Mr Julius Debrah, Local Government Minister, Mr Samuel Sarpong, Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Kojo Bonsu, Mayor of Kumasi, and some directors of Local Government Ministry to work at Kejetia, Aboabo Railway line, Alabar and Roman Hill.

Mr Edwin Nii Lantey Vanderpuiye, and Mr Emmanuel Kwadjo Agyekum, both Deputy Ministers of the Local Government Ministry, also participated in the exercise in some districts and municipalities in the Region.

Addressing the media after the exercise, Mr Debrah said it was a collective responsibility of the citizenry to clean our cities and environments to phase out the sanitation challenges of the nation.

He condemned the attitude of some citizens towards the NSD Campaign, saying that, "Filth and the outbreak of diseases kill, it does not know a Minister or a Member of Parliament but this are preventable. Therefore, no citizen must exempt himself or herself from the campaign.”

Mr Debrah commended the Security Agencies for their active participation and urged Ghanaians to emulate them to rid their communities of filth.

He announced that a model would be enacted by law, latest in February, for the arrest and prosecution of people who would absent themselves with sound reason.

Asantehene Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, said the NSD Campaign is a good and a laudable initiative and stressed the need for Ghanaians to observe good personal hygiene and proper environmental practices.

He noted that cleanliness was the right path to good environmental and public health, and strength and expressed his appreciation for the large number people who have participated in the exercise, especially the security services.

Mr Sarpong thanked the various agencies, organizations, fun clubs and individuals, who participated in the exercise and called for more support for the exercise.

Ashanti Regional Police Commander, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCOP), Kofi Boakye who was also on the grounds, said the exercise was a non-partisan affair and appealed to churches, corporate bodies, organizations and individuals in the Region to educate the citizenry on environmental and public health issues.

The NSD was launched on September 17, 2014.