The Church of Pentecost in the Bolgatanga Municipality has launched an environmental campaign to rid the municipality of filth and encourage proper sanitation and hygienic practices.

The campaign dubbed: “Environmental care, my responsibility”, forms part of the church’s campaign for attitudinal change in the effort to keep the environment clean.

The Church, after the launch, undertook clean-up exercise in some selected areas of the Bolgatanga townships, including minor and satellite markets at the main new market.

The Church collaborated with Zoomlion Ghana to undertake the exercise. Apostle Kwame Nkrumah Agyeman, Area Head of the Church at the launch, said sanitation issues in the country could effectively be tackled through strong partnership between the church and state as “captured in the church’s vision for 2023 and anchored on possessing the nations; equipping the church to transform every sphere of society with values and principles of God”.

He said the church’s move was to augment government efforts to keep the country clean which is at the heart of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo- Addo’s agenda.

Apostle Agyeman said the campaign has been designed to tackle sanitation issues through education, clean-up exercises and community mobilization initiatives among others.

He said the launch unveiled the church’s strategic plan for the environmental campaign and its commitment to avail resources to ensure that the environment was properly cared for in the region.

He thanked Zoomlion for the collaboration and support for the exercise and called on all state institutions committed to the environment and sanitation to support the church’s vision.

Apostle Agyeman, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the campaign was the church’s contribution towards national development in view of the poor sanitation conditions and attitudes exhibited by the citizens in the area.

“When we have a clean environment, we will have healthy people in the community who can support national development and worship God in a hygienic environment”, he said.

He said “we want Bolgatanga to be the cleanest city by 2020 and this is the reason why we have to maintain the environmental care campaign to enhance behavioral change among citizens”. Mr John Sackey, Upper East Regional Manager of Zoomlion Ghana, congratulated the Pentecost Church for the initiative and pledged his outfit’s support to the exercise. Mr Sackey condemned the lack of interest of some Ghanaians in caring for their surroundings adding that environmental cleanliness should be a shared responsibility. He called on the media and other churches to use their platforms to educate the residents on the urgent need for them to engage in proper environmental practices.