The Government of Ghana, under the auspices of the Post-Flood Mitigation Committee, has declared Friday, July 10, 2026, and Saturday, July 11, 2026, as National General Cleaning Days across the seven regions affected by the recent floods.
The Presidency Communications Office, led by Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu, announced the directive in a statement issued on Monday, July 6, 2026.
Under the theme “Our Actions, Our Future: Cleaning Ghana after the floods,” the two-day national exercise seeks to mobilise collective duty to clean communities, secure the environment, and safeguard lives across the country. The statement described the initiative as a critical, nationwide exercise and strongly encouraged all citizens to fully participate in it.
President John Dramani Mahama has directed that all government appointees, including Ministers of State, Chief Executive Officers, Members of Parliament, Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives, and Heads of Public Institutions, must step out of their offices, pick up tools, and lead cleanup efforts alongside members of their respective communities.
The directive places senior government figures directly in the field rather than treating the exercise as a symbolic gesture, requiring officials at every level of government to take part in the physical work of clearing debris and restoring affected areas.
A Structured Two Day Schedule
To ensure a structured, highly coordinated, and effective exercise, the government has scheduled activities across the two days in distinct phases.
On Friday, July 10, personnel from all security agencies, the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies, and waste management companies will commence the cleanup. On Saturday, July 11, the general public will join the security agencies and assemblies to scale up the exercise.
This phased approach allows security and municipal personnel to lead the initial push before opening the effort to wider public participation on the second day, building momentum toward a larger, more inclusive cleanup on the weekend.
During the two-day exercise, efforts will be heavily focused on several priority areas.
These include desilting choked drains to ensure free, uninterrupted water flow ahead of the heavy rains, sweeping and clearing sand, weeds, and debris from major roads, streets, and highways, and cleaning up public spaces, including markets, lorry parks, recreational parks, and communal waste collection points.
The emphasis on drainage systems reflects growing concern that blocked drains have directly contributed to the severity of recent flooding, making their clearance a central objective of the entire exercise rather than a secondary task.
A Wake Up Call for the Nation
The Presidency’s statement framed the exercise in stark terms, describing it as a critical intervention and a vital wake-up call for the nation.
It stated that for far too long, indiscriminate littering and plastic pollution have clogged drainage systems, contributing to devastating, preventable floods that destroy livelihoods and claim precious Ghanaian lives.
This language positions the cleanup not merely as a response to a single flooding event but as a broader reckoning with long standing habits that the government says have made such disasters more likely and more severe over time.
The statement directed all Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies to collaborate with waste management companies to provide adequate logistics, including waste trucks, gloves, shovels, and other cleaning tools at designated collection points.
Assemblies must also ensure that all silt and gathered refuse are evacuated immediately to prevent them from washing back into the drains.
This requirement addresses a common failure point in past cleanup exercises, where collected waste sometimes remained near cleared drains long enough to be washed back in by subsequent rain, undermining the purpose of the exercise.
“Let us rise together and show that the Ghanaian spirit of community, discipline, and unity is alive and well. Protect your home, protect your neighbour, and let us clean our beloved homeland. Clean Ghana, Save Lives”.
Presidential Spokesperson and Minister of Government Communications Felix Kwakye Ofosu
The statement was signed by Felix Kwakye Ofosu, MP, Spokesperson to the President and Minister for Government Communications, formalising the directive as an official government position addressed to the public and all relevant institutions.
What the Exercise Signals Going Forward
By requiring senior officials to physically participate alongside ordinary citizens, the government appears intent on demonstrating shared responsibility for a crisis that has affected communities across seven regions.
Whether the two-day exercise translates into lasting behavioural change around littering and drainage maintenance will likely depend on how consistently these cleaning efforts continue beyond the scheduled dates, particularly as the country moves further into its rainy season.
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