Story: Reuben Sackey 

President John  Dramani Mahama says  the  new performance  benchmark for  Metropolitan, Municipal and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs) will be based on cleanliness in their jurisdictions 

According to him, the level of sanitation in their districts would now play a critical role in determining whether they remain in office or face removal.

Speaking during his Thank You Tour of the Greater Accra Region in Dodowa on Friday, May 16,  2025, the president said  maintaining clean communities would become a key performance indicator in assessing the work of MMDCEs under his administration.

“Cleanliness will become one of the key performance indicators for measuring the performance of MMDCEs and will determine whether they will remain in office or are removed,” President Mahama stated.

The announcement comes as the country continues to grapple with recurrent flooding, particularly in Accra, which the President attributed to poor drainage, unregulated development, and the worsening impacts of climate change.

He described the situation as unacceptable and stressed the need for urgent, coordinated action.

Mr Mahama  disclosed that a dedicated inter-agency task force had already begun implementing a comprehensive flood mitigation strategy. 

This , he said,  included the desilting of major drains, reengineering of waterways, relocating structures in waterways, and enforcing building regulations. 

He said, specific attention was  being given to the Odaw Basin and the Kaneshie-Mallam corridor.

President Mahama also expressed concern about delays in key flood prevention projects under the World Bank-funded Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) programme. 

He urged residents to stay cautious during the rainy season, particularly around open drains and flood-prone areas.

To support districts in managing sanitation more effectively, the President noted that 80 per cent of the revenues from the District Assemblies Common Fund would  now be paid directly to MMDAs, providing them with more resources to carry out development projects and sanitation programmes. 

He added that Cabinet would  soon meet to discuss the full decentralisation of the sanitation budget, making every district fully responsible for its own cleanliness.

“Accra deserves a clean and resilient environment, and that is why we are integrating the Greater Accra Flood Master Control Plan into our national climate resilience strategy,” President Mahama added.