Koforidua, March 12, GNA - Hundreds of Koforidua residents on Saturday undertook a clean-up exercise to rid the city of filth in response to calls by the New Juaben Municipal Assembly for them to help abate mounting litter and other environmental nuisance in the municipality.

Shops were shut until 1100 hours, while transport services were low keyed or non-existent in some areas as transport union officials, drivers and other business owners joined hand with municipal workers to rid the municipality of garbage.

The Police and the Ghana Fire Service provided logistical support for the exercise that had residents working as early as 0600 hours in groups to clear shrubs, desilt sewage outlets and picked litter to give the municipality a face-lift in line with its fame as the city of flowers.

New Juaben Municipal Chief Executive, Nana Adjei Boateng joined by the Eastern Regional Minister, Mr Yaw Barimah, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman and the Queenmother of New Juaben, Nana Yaa Daani, took part in the exercise. Elsewhere, the Deputy Eastern Regional Police Commander, Assistant Commissioner of Police(ACOP) K.A. Boateng led his men to weed along the Koforidua-Adweso dual carriage, while Mr L.A.K Blavo in-charge of Prison Officers, led his team in the exercise around Effiduase. Accompanied by the Eastern Regional Director of Health Services, Dr Ebenezer Appiah-Denkyira, the dignitaries joined hands with workers at the Koforidua main market, the butchers shop, the Koforidua-Kumasi Lorry station and also supervised the levelling of refuse dump at Asokore.

They also visited Suhyen, Bonya, Agavenya, Trom, Two Streams, Effiduase and Zongo, which are suburbs of the Municipality to acquaint themselves with work in those areas. At Jumapo, the group meet with a lively-charged community that even temporarily 'seized' a taxi driver for not taking part in the exercise and for his punishment, the town folks used his cab to dispose of refuse.

Addressing them, Nana Adjei Boateng said he was satisfied with the response of the residents to the exercise and stressed the need for a concerted responsibility to keep the municipality from filth. Mr Owusu-Agyeman and Mr Barimah both spoke about the relation between environmental sanitation, health and longevity and advised the people to observe personal hygiene.

Mr Owusu-Agyeman said in keeping with Government's commitment to promote health, part of the resources accruing from Highly Indebted Poor Country Relief Fund has been allocated for environmental sanitation. The next exercise comes off in about three months.