He pointed out that Ghana appears to be in a worse state of cleanliness compared to before the establishment of the Sanitation Ministry, which was previously under the jurisdiction of the Local Government Ministry.
In an effort to streamline operations and reduce costs, Mahama has proposed returning sanitation responsibilities to the various local assemblies, as it was previously structured.
Despite the Ministry's inception aimed at advancing the President's 'cleanest city' initiative, Mahama observed that the capital city's sanitation situation has deteriorated.
During a discussion with students at the Wisconsin International University College in Accra on April 3, 2024, John Mahama outlined the two primary reasons driving his decision to dismantle the ministry.
He said "We will close down the Ministry of Sanitation, one to reduce expenditure and two, I don’t see any use. Our country is dirtier than when there was no Ministry of Sanitation. Indeed, this country was cleaner when our country was under local government than as a standalone ministry and so we’ll close down that ministry and we’ll take the sanitation schedule back to local government.
"With cleanliness, we think that it’s the duty of the district assemblies. Every assembly has an obligation to make sure that its district is clean and so we must decentralise sanitation to the district level."
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo delivering his third State of the Nation Address on the floor of Parliament on Thursday, February 21, 2019, reiterated that he will make Accra the cleanest city in Africa by the end of his first tenure.
He said the Ministry of Justice would work with the Judiciary to ensure the prosecution of people who littered and those who stole waste bins.
According to him, the sanitation situation across the city had improved even though there were still challenges.
He bemoaned the menace of open defecation and poor sanitation in some parts of the country which he said scared away foreign tourists.