Obuasi, April 02, GNA - A massive clean-up exercise to rid the Obuasi municipality of filth was held on Saturday ahead of a mass spraying exercise to control malaria in the area.

The spraying exercise takes off on Monday April 3.

As a result of the exercise organised by the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, all shops, stores and markets were closed to business activities.

The Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo and Mr Kofi Poku Adusei, Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development and Acting President of the Adansi Traditional Council, Nana Assiama Guahyia Ababio, joined the leadership of the assembly in the five-hour exercise.

The turn out was impressive as residents desilted choked gutters, cleared refuse dumping sites, swept and weeded their communities. The presence of the two ministers of state, the Municipal Chief Executive, Joe Boampong and other departmental heads at the communities heightened the enthusiasm of the residents especially at Bidieso-Compound, Boete, Bogobri and Kwabenakwakrom as they worked tirelessly to keep their environment clean.

At the Obuasi central business area, students of Obuasi Senior Secondary/Technical School and members of the Pioneer Club, John Mensah Fun Club, Mensuro Association and the Ghana Scout Association, desilted the choked gutters and swept the main lorry station. Addressing workers at the lorry station, Mr Poku Adusei said Government was committed to the health of the people and commended the assembly for organising the exercise.

Mr Poku Adusei stressed the need for Ghanaians to ensure clean environment by avoiding indiscriminate dumping of refuse. The Deputy Minister appealed to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to enforce their byelaws on sanitation to promote healthy environment.

Mr Boafo said Obuasi was a strategic town in the region therefore, it was important for the residents to ensure that cleanliness in the municipality was maintained. "The exercise should not be a nine-day wonder," the Regional Minister stressed.

He noted that cleanliness was next to Godliness and therefore, asked the residents to keep the municipality clean always. The Regional Minister expressed his satisfaction about the massive turn out.

The Municipal Chief Executive asked the communities to prepare themselves for the mass spraying exercise. Earlier, Mr Anthony Boadi-Mensah, former Member of Parliament (MP) for Obuasi, in an interaction with the press, stressed the need for continuous organisation of such exercises to keep the environment clean and help sustain the enthusiasm of residents. He expressed satisfaction about the way the exercise was organised, adding, "It is well organised. It started in good spirit and being maintained."