The NDPC Madina market clean-up is a maiden project, which is in partnership with the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), La Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly (La-NMMA) and Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MoSWR).

The exercise on the theme:  "A Clean Community, A Shared Responsibility" is in support of the declaration of the country to take away all filth that engulfed the city for years and make sure the city is clean.

The exercise, which started around 0600 hours, involved de-silting of choked gutters and the clearing of rubbish by some staff of the NDPC, some members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) and some community members.

Though shops were asked to remain closed till 1000 hours, some owners defied the order and were compelled by the municipal task force to close the shops till work was done.

Dr Kodjo Esseim Mensah-Abrampa, Director-General of NDPC, said the exercise was to contribute to the vision of the President of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

"Today we are only initiating a process with the community by joining them in this clean-up," he added.

Mr Mensah-Abrampa said the NDPC was undertaking the exercise to interact with the community and also to know the problems associated with waste management, particularly waste disposal and how the waste could be recycled to help the country.

He said NDPC would study on how waste was generated, how it was collected and transferred, and how it could be recycled to come back as something of utility for us.

"The NDPC wants to set up a sustainable process of dealing with these issues and would come out with strategy and proposal to act with the people on the ground.

"Despite all the effort with the cleaning, a lot of people are just passing by us without giving a little attention and even saying how are you doing," he added.

He added that dealing with waste also went with a lot of conscientisation and people would be aware of filth around and how they could deal with them.

"Much as we are looking at it at the institutional level, we should also look at it from the community actions. The issue of waste management should be dealt with in a more integrated manner.

He urged the public not to clean and leave the waste at the edges of the gutters.

Mr Mensah -Abrampa said on 19 December NDPC would hold a public discussion on waste management and sanitation.

Prof.Stephen Adei, the Chairman of NDPC, said there was the need for a much more systematic policy and practice and for NDPC, sanitation was a national policy and development issue that needed redress.

He said as an agency responsible for the overall national policy, sanitation was one of the areas that needed attention.

Mrs Jennifer Dede Adjabeng, the Municipal Chief Executive of the La-Nkwantanang Madina Municipal Assembly (LaNMMA) added that waste management was a collective responsibility that needed the support of all.

She appealed to other organisations to get involved to help fight the filth and keep the city clean.