The fourth edition of the National Sanitation Day exercise hosted by the Northern Region succeeded in uniting two “rival” revered chiefs in the Tamale Metro area.
Over the years, Gulkpegu Naa Alhassan Abdulai and Naa Dakpema Dawuni Alhassan have had stale relationship.
[contextly_sidebar id=”YOscltVU9Xons0EwTTrOstVekEf5oAbF”]They have been at loggerheads over supremacy to the Tamale Metro Area chiefdom.
Supporters of the two have in the past been divided on such parallel lines but the two smoked the peace pipe at the massively attended National Sanitation Day exercise held in Tamale.
Gulkpegu Naa Alhassan Abdulai and Naa Dakpema Dawuni Alhassan as well as their teeming followers actively participated throughout the exercise.
Well meaning residents of Tamale in a Citi News interview commended the two chiefs for exhibiting the highest standard of reconciliation and unity on the occasion of the National Sanitation Day exercise.
The two chiefs joined the teeming crowd and cleared the business capital of filth.
They jointly pledged their unflinching support to government to sustain the exercise.
The Local Government and Rural Development Minister at the climax rated Northern Region as the best so far in terms of the National Sanitation Day exercise participation.
He on behalf of President John Mahama extolled the chiefs and people of the region and urged them to keep high the spirit of sanitation and environmental management.
“His Excellency wants me to thank the people of Tamale especially the chiefs and opinion leaders and everybody for taking this issue very seriously.”
He stated, “We really appreciate this and His Excellency the President especially wants me to thank our brothers from the NPP, the CPP and the PNC who took part in this exercise: His Excellency wants you to know that we are one people from one nation and we should have one destiny, let us come together and build our nation and we shall all have a prosperous country called Ghana.”
Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South who doubles as Minister of Employment and Labour Relations commended Julius Debrah for the initiative.
Haruna Iddrisu admitted that “sanitary infrastructure was a major problem in the Northern Region: either it is the people in Lamashegu, Asawaaba, Gbewaa residential area or Kalariga even a convenient place of defecation such as toilet facility is lacking and so on behalf of the chief of Lamashegu and on my own behalf I want to commend you for a wonderful initiative of declaring the National Sanitation Day exercise.”
“My own honest believe is that your intention is for Ghanaians to internalize cleanliness as being next to Godliness,” Haruna prophesized.
The Tamale South legislator called for concerted efforts to sustain the exercise.
He challenged the chiefs and assembly members of Tamale to keep it up. “It should not be a weekly, monthly or quarterly activity but Ghanaians must internalize a new attitude to clean their environment at all times.”
Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna showed appreciation for the massive turnout.
He promised his administration’s determination to liaise with all the major stakeholders in the region to make sanitation and environmental management a major priority at home and at work places.
The governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) regional executives were led by the regional Chairman, Chief Awudu Sofo Azorka whilst the opposition New Patriotic Party (NPP) executives were led by the Regional Secretary, Sule Salifu.
The participants dissilted chocked gutters and cleared filth in communities including Aboabo, Lamashegu, Nyohini, Sabonjida, Zogbeli, Moshie Zongo, Changli and Dagban dab-ba fong.
Reports from other district in the region indicated that there was high enthusiasm attached to the exercise.
The event which lasted for several hours brought together civil society groups, political parties, traditional rulers, some Members of Parliament, traders, the Clergy, security agencies and staff of Zoomlion Company Limited.
The exercise was organized by the Tamale Metropolitan Assembly in collaboration with the Northern Regional Coordinating Council under the auspices of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development which relocated to the Northern Region for one week.
On the eve of the exercise, personnel of security forces in the Tamale Metro Area gallantly displayed their antics on some principal streets in Tamale to whip up public passion.
Two of Ghana’s most celebrated boxers, Bukom Banku, Ayittey Powers and a host of celebrities participated in the route march.
The high turnout did not come as a surprise because the Local Government Minister and his two Deputies visited about 13 districts in the region and hyped the exercise.
They paid courtesy calls on some high profile traditional leaders in the region including the Regent of Dagbon, the overlord of Mamprugu and the overlord of Gonjaland and urged them to place premium on the exercise.
Government necessarily initiated the National Sanitation Day concept to clear the nation of filth as means of promoting sanitation and environmental management.
The exercise which is spearheaded by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development is marked first week of every month.
It was held twice in the Greater Accra Region, moved to the Ashanti and to the Northern Region.
By: Abdul Karim Naatogmah/Citifmonline.com/Ghana