The President and Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the Ghana Armed Forces, John Dramani Mahama has relaunched the National Sanitation Day at the forecourt of the Institute of Local Government Studies, Madina on Saturday, 6 September 2025.

The relaunch was under the theme, ‘A Clean Environment, Our Responsibility’ and it is aimed at restoring public cleanliness by empowering local government structures and increasing citizen accountability.

During his address at the launch, the President urged citizens to prioritise cleaning their homes and environments, charging parents to instill the spirit of cleanliness in their children and ensure it remains a life-long practice.

He noted that amending Chapter 22 of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana is essential to restore certain powers to the chiefs, enabling them to sanction polluters within their communities by enforcing local sanitation by-laws.

President Mahama presented some cleaning items to the Buzzstop Boys, a group of young individuals dedicated to improving the country’s sanitation, in recognition of their selfless and voluntary service to the country and encouraged the youth to be interested in the country’s sanitation development, assuring them they would be acknowledged.

The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Honourable Ahmed Ibrahim urged all citizens to rally behind the initiative. He charged all Metropolitan, Municipal and District and Assemblies to effectively utilize sanitation by-laws to achieve a clean Ghana.

The President of the National House of Chiefs and the Paramount Chief of the Sehwi-Anhwiaso Traditional Area, Ogyeahoho Yaw Gyebi II encouraged all chiefs to support the goal of achieving a Clean Ghana, emphasising that the issue of sanitation and waste management should be a collective effort from all citizens to make Ghana the cleanest country.

The relaunch follows the initial launch in 2014 and would be observed every first Saturday of each month.