When the President of the Republic issues a call to action, it is imperative that all citizens and organisations respond accordingly, and the Petroleum Hub Development Corporation (PHDC) answered this call in an impressive fashion by actively participating in the Friday edition of the National General Cleaning Day.
Spearheaded by its CEO, Dr. Toni Aubynn, a dedicated team from PHDC collaborated with the Ayawaso West Municipality, the Ghana Armed Forces, the Ghana Prisons Service, and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO) to undertake a massive clean-up exercise in flood-prone areas within the municipality.
The exercise began at Dzorwulu, before proceeding to the Shiashie Bus Stop, which is one of the municipality’s notorious flood-prone areas and concluding at the Atomic Bus Stop, which has also gained a reputation for flooding over the years.
From desilting choked gutters to weeding overgrown vegetation and sweeping major public spaces, PHDC and the partner agencies demonstrated a strong commitment to reducing the impact of flooding in the country, particularly in the Ayawaso West Municipality.
Addressing the press, Dr Toni Aubynn paid special tribute to His Excellency President John Dramani Mahama for once again demonstrating leadership by galvanising the entire nation to work together to mitigate the effects of flooding.
Dr Aubynn stated that the initiative, inspired by President John Dramani Mahama, is clear proof of the government’s determination to confront the perennial flooding challenge from multiple fronts.
He disclosed that PHDC, as an organisation located in the Ayawaso West Municipality, felt compelled to answer the national and patriotic call by undertaking clean-up activities within the municipality.
Dr. Aubynn explained that PHDC has fully embraced the initiative and has made it a permanent fixture on its calendar, with regular clean-up exercises in the assembly.
“The President has allowed us to be of direct service to our community, which we operate in. We are happy, and we think it’s a call everyone must respond, and as a corporation, we want to be able to do these things even without the call of His Excellency the President,” he added
On the issue of flooding, Dr Aubynn recommended a two-pronged approach anchored on infrastructure re-engineering and behavioural change.
“To tackle flooding, we need to look at the root cause of the problem. Two major factors are the engineering of Accra, the way we have built and developed our drainage systems, and the second one is our behavioural issues. We have seen people dump refuse in gutters and places they are not supposed to” he said
The Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Ayawaso West, Dr Michael Mensah, commended PHDC for the partnership and expressed the Assembly’s readiness to continue collaborating with the corporation on future projects.
PHDC also donated clean-up tools and packs of bottled water to the Assembly.
