The spirit of community and cleanliness was alive on Saturday, 1^st November, 2025 as residents of Ledzokuku, Krowor, and La Dadekotopon came out in their numbers to mark the Second National Sanitation Day with renewed zeal and unity.

From the early hours of the morning, Residents, assembly members, Volunteer groups, students from the Nungua Senior High School, youth associations and traders were seen sweeping streets, desilting gutters, clearing weeds, and collecting heaps of refuse from major roadways and markets.

The exercise, which forms part of government’s National Sanitation Campaign that aims to promote behavioral change and community ownership of environmental cleanliness. Officers from the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Traditional Leaders together with the Municipal Assemblies and Zoomlion Ghana Limited, supported the cleanup activities.

At Krowor, the President of the Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, King Prof. Oboade Odaifio Welentse III, Vice President of Greater Accra Regional House of Chiefs, Nene Tetteh Wakah III   and the Municipal Chief Executive, Hon. Paul Afotey Quaye, led residents to desilt drains along the Teshie Township roads, emphasizing the need for sustained citizen participation.

Saturday’s turnout shows that cleanliness is everyone’s responsibility and when communities take charge, Ghana can become a cleaner, healthier place to live.

In Teshie Tsui Bleoo, youth groups and residents turned the exercise into a lively community affair, ensuring that every drainage system was clean, while removing shrubs around pathways.

At La Dadekotopon, residents took the exercise to heart, transforming neglected spaces into tidy public areas. The Assembly, led by Hon. Alfredos Anyetei, collaborated with traditional leaders and schools to educate participants on proper waste segregation while clearing pathways.

The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, led by the Minister Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim, the Deputy Minister, Hon. Rita Naa Odoley Sowah and the Chief Director, Alhaji Amin Abdul – Rahaman along with a delegation from the Ministry joined these Communities to ensure there was adherence to the first Saturday of the month clean- up exercise as scheduled by the president.

The Second National Sanitation Day reinforces the message that a cleaner Ghana is achievable when citizens, assemblies, and Traditional leaders work hand in hand.

 Source: Chantal Aidoo

Public Relations Unit, MLGCRA

The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) has commenced a two-day training workshop for key staff to prepare the Ministry’s 2026–2029 Programme-Based Budget (PBB).

Participants were drawn from the Ministry’s departments, allied agencies, and projects, with the objective of developing a comprehensive budget document that aligns with the Ministry’s mandate and core values.

Welcoming participants on behalf of the Chief Director, Alhaji Amin Abdul-Rahaman, the Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management, Mr. Divine Ayejoh, expressed optimism that the workshop would reflect the Ministry’s commitment to integrating gender perspectives and fostering inclusivity in the 2026 budget.

He emphasized the importance of collaboration among directorates, departments, and agencies in producing a budget that truly reflects the Ministry’s programmes and activities. Mr. Ayejoh further urged participants to be guided by the provisions of the Public Financial Management Act, 2016 (Act 921) throughout the exercise.

For his part, the Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Mr. Usama Iddrisu Samu, underscored that the programme-based budget must align with the Sector Medium-Term Development Plan (SMTDP) 2026–2029, ensuring that gender-responsive and inclusive principles are not overlooked. He encouraged participants to apply their expertise to strengthen the Ministry’s financial planning and policy implementation. Mr. Samu also commended Strengthening Investment Gender Responsive Climate Adaption (SIGRA) for its continuous partnership and support towards promoting gender responsiveness within the Ministry.

The Director of Budget, Mrs. Freda Ekua Faah, explained that the workshop also aims to validate the Ministry’s 2025 Programme-Based Budget with a strong focus on gender responsiveness and inclusiveness. She stressed that the initiative seeks to mainstream gender principles across all programmes and sub-programmes to ensure equitable financial allocations that address the diverse needs of men, women, boys, and girls.

Mrs. Faah urged participants to engage actively and contribute meaningfully to the process to produce a credible and results-oriented document that reflects the Ministry’s mandate.

Source: Chantal Aidoo

Public Relations Unit, MLGCRA

Ghana is stepping up efforts to strengthen collaboration with the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) in advancing sustainable urban development and addressing the challenges of rapid urbanisation.

This follows a bilateral meeting between the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA) and UN-Habitat held on Thursday, 30th October 2025, at the Ministry’s Executive Conference Room in Accra.

The meeting focused on strengthening ongoing and future partnerships to promote inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable cities in line with Sustainable Development Goal 11 and the New Urban Agenda.

Speaking during the meeting, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim (MP), commended UN-Habitat for its consistent technical and policy support to Ghana’s urban development agenda.

“It is always a pleasure to welcome our development partners to engagements that advance Ghana’s journey toward sustainable urban development,” he said. “Urban development is not a one-time event but an ongoing process.”

The Minister highlighted major collaborative initiatives, including the National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (NSUPS), first developed in 2013 and currently being reviewed with support from UN-Habitat. He noted that the revised strategy is in its final stage and will be launched during World Cities Day.

He also mentioned progress on the National Urban Policy and Implementation Plan, which aligns with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the New Urban Agenda. The revised policy, he said, will soon be presented to Cabinet for approval.

Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim further highlighted the Ghana Smart SDG Cities Programme, jointly implemented with UN-Habitat and funded by the Government of Norway, which is supporting ten cities through data-driven and impact-oriented approaches to localise the SDGs.

He added that, with support from the World Bank, the Ministry has developed a Sustainable Cities Strategy (SCS) to complement the revised National Urban Policy. The strategy provides targeted actions to address challenges related to housing, waste management, mobility, spatial planning and governance.

The Minister appealed for UN-Habitat’s continued technical and financial support to implement the Sustainable Cities Strategy and finalise both the National Urban Policy (2025–2034) and the National Slum Upgrading and Prevention Strategy (NSUPS).

He also called for support in disseminating and operationalising the Local Economic Development Policy (2024–2029) launched last year, as well as in developing the Ministry’s Sector Medium-Term Development Plan (2026–2029) to guide its programmes over the next four years.

In her remarks, Ms. Abena Ntori, UN-Habitat Country Manager for Ghana, commended the Ministry for its leadership and reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s sustainable urbanisation efforts. She said UN-Habitat remains open to deeper collaboration in implementing impactful and inclusive development projects.

Source: Darling Maame Efua Cann
MLGCRA Public Relations Unit.