The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA), Mrs. Maame Efua Houadjeto, has called on Ghanaians to take ownership of the country’s coastline as the GTA launches a major Clean the Beach Campaign across Accra and surrounding coastal communities.
Speaking at the launch of the initiative dubbed ‘The Blue Ghana Initiative: Protecting Our Beaches. Preserving Our Future’, Mrs. Houadjeto said the campaign is a direct response to the country’s growing waste and flooding challenges.
“Our beaches are not just tourist attractions. They are the face we show the world and an inheritance we owe future generations. Every piece of plastic that chokes a drain in Accra has the potential to end up on our shores.
We cannot continue to treat our environment as someone else’s responsibility. Cleaning our beaches and keeping them clean is a national duty that belongs to all of us,” she said.
The launch comes weeks after Accra experienced one of its heaviest single-day rainfalls on June 29, 2026.
Communities including Alajo, Circle, Kaneshie, Odawna, Tse Addo, and Weija were severely affected, with lives lost, properties destroyed and hundreds displaced. Disaster management agencies linked the flooding to indiscriminate dumping of refuse into drains and waterways.
Environmental experts have warned that waste discarded into drains eventually washes into rivers and onto the coast, polluting beaches, endangering marine life and threatening livelihoods that depend on the sea.
The GTA said Ghana’s beaches are vital environmental and economic resources that support tourism, protect biodiversity, sustain fishing communities and shape the country’s image internationally. Clean beaches, the Authority added, promote public health and preserve marine ecosystems.
Under ‘The Blue Ghana Initiative’, the GTA will collaborate with community groups, hospitality businesses, schools, youth organisations, civil society groups and volunteers for clean-up exercises. Details on participating beaches and campaign dates will be announced in the coming weeks.
The Authority is also calling on manufacturers of bottled water, beverages and other plastic-packaged products to partner in responsible plastic waste management, invest in recycling, and support public education.
It further commended government’s efforts to phase out harmful single-use plastics, including take-away containers.
To sustain the effort, the GTA will establish “The Blue Ghana Foundation” to enable individuals, corporate organisations, development partners and philanthropists to fund beach clean-ups, environmental education and coastal conservation.
“Our beaches are national treasures, economic lifelines and the face of Ghana to the world. Protecting them is not the responsibility of government alone. It is a shared duty that belongs to every Ghanaian and every institution that calls Ghana home,” Mrs. Houadjeto added.
