A 42-year-old trader, Madam Patience Pomaa, has been fined GH¢2,400 by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) Sanitation Court for refusing to participate in the statutory National Sanitation Day exercise.
In default of payment, she will serve one month in prison.
Madam Pomaa appeared before the court presided over by Her Worship Mrs Rosemond Vera Aryeetey on Thursday, December 4, 2025, where she pleaded guilty to the charges of failing to comply with a statutory notice and refusing to join the monthly cleanup.
Prosecutor Nii Okine Aryee told the court that on April 10, 2025, the designated day for the National Sanitation Day, Environmental Health Officers spotted the accused trading instead of taking part in the compulsory exercise in her area.
She was subsequently served with a statutory notice, which she ignored, prompting the AMA to summon her to court.
Delivering judgment, the magistrate stressed that participation in the National Sanitation Day is compulsory for all residents and businesses within the metropolis, adding that deliberate refusal undermines efforts to keep Accra clean.
Mrs Aryeetey warned that poor sanitation poses serious public health risks, including outbreaks of cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, malaria and other preventable diseases.
The court consequently convicted Madam Pomaa on her own plea and imposed the GH¢2,400 fine.