Most residents of Yendi failed to turn up for the national sanitation exercise on Saturday despite a directive that everyone should participate in it.

The Presidential Directive for all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies to organize a National – Day Clean up exercise on every first Saturday of every month has seen low patronage in Yendi.

Apart from the Yendi Municipal Assembly workers, the military, the Ghana Prison Service, the Police Service and other security agencies, who take part in the exercise, the general public always refuses to come out for the clean – up exercise in the Municipality.

The Yendi Municipal Chief Executive, Mr. Issah Zakaria, made this known when he addressed the volunteers, after the four hours clean – up exercise at Yendi, in the Yendi Municipality of the Northern Region.

Mr. Zakaria said the sanitation situation in the Yendi Township is very poor, and that, if there should be outbreak of cholera there will be a number of casualties.

He said the Assembly has empowered the Environment and Sanitation Unit of the Assembly to prosecute sanitation offenders at the law court.

According to the Municipal Chief Executive some years back when there was an outbreak of Cholera in Yendi, a number of lives were lost due to the poor Sanitation in the area.

He appealed to political leaders, traditional authorities and opinion leaders not to plead for the release of sanitation offenders when they are caught. He said there will be a second stakeholders meeting in the Municipality to entreat them on the importance of cleaning up their surroundings.

The Yendi Municipal Environmental Officer, Hajia Fati Sibdow, commended the Security agencies, Zoomlion, Assembly workers, the GPRTU of TUC and the Information Service Department for participating fully in the clean – up exercise.

Hajia Fati said she is sad because none of the members of the leadership of the political parties in the constituency took part in the exercise, adding that, she has asked the environmental officers to carry out intensive inspection in the Yendi Township and that any sanitation offender caught will be prosecuted.