The 10 Mechanized Battalion, affectionately called the Hippos, in a bid to promote sanitation and healthy living has undertaken a clean-up exercise in Wa, the Wa Municipal and Upper West Regional capital.

The exercise saw officers and soldiers of the Aggrey Barracks in Wa together with officials and workers of the Zoomlion Company Limited clean up filthy areas within the town over the weekend.

The Commanding Officer of the 10 Mechanized Battalion, Lt. Col. Godfred Asampong said the exercise formed part of the barrack’s quota towards the cleanliness of the Wa Municipality in which it was situated.

“As the saying goes, cleanliness is next to godliness and a very clean society will also automatically ensure a healthy society, so we thought it wise to organize this in conjunction with the Wa Municipal Assembly and the Zoomlion to help clean the environment,” he said.

He added that the exercise was to help foster an atmosphere of friendliness between the military and the civilian population, ensuring maximum military-civilian cooperation in the region.

“We just want the general public to know that we [the military] are their friends, they can feel free and always get close to us".

“They should know that we are their friends. Aside from the cleaning aspect, we can interact with them for them to also feel comfortable anytime they see the uniform around,” Lt. Col. Asampong said.

He urged the public to regularly clean their surroundings to stay away from dirt saying that it was not ideal to stay in a filthy environment.

Lt. Col. Asampong assured the people that the military was on top of security matters in the region and encouraged the public to volunteer information on criminals and criminal activities to the military for swift action.

The Regional Coordinator the Zoomlion Company Limited, Mr. Venantius Kuudigr said his outfit desired to see every part of the country clean and devoid of any potential to cause illnesses.

He said the Zoomlion in the Upper West Region, in particular, was working tirelessly to ensure the region regained its position as the cleanest region in the country.

“We want to make sure that the Upper West Region becomes the cleanest in the whole country. The region was once adjudged the cleanest and we want to get that spot again,” he said.

He called on households and the general public to take the sanitation of homes and the environment very seriously for improved health and general well-being.

The clean-up exercise also saw in attendance the Wa Municipal Chief Executive and other officials of the Assembly as well as the Regional and Municipal Offices of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).