The programme, which was held in Accra on Tuesday was on the theme "A

Clean Ghana, Our Responsibility" and was attended by 43 basic schools and four Senior High Schools selected from six circuits within the municipality, and other identifiable groups.

Ms Josephine Nkrumah, the chairperson of the NCCE in her speech at the Function, said the theme for the celebration was apt to drive the national agenda to have responsible citizenry who would assist to build a clean, healthy and wealthy nation.

She called on citizens to change their lifestyles to aid in the fight against insanitary conditions that have engulfed the nation.

She advised the students, representatives of the assembly, clergy and other dignitaries not to see cleaning of the environment as the sole responsibility of the assembly, government or waste management companies but rather as a collective responsibility.

The Chairperson further encouraged them that they were the right agents of change and must begin to demonstrate new life styles that would keep their homes, communities and country clean and underscored the need to desist from dumping refuse into gutters.

She aroused their alertness to the situation by referring to the fact that by 2050 when most of the youth would have become leaders, the ocean will have more plastics than fishes if care was not taken.

She said the situation demanded immediate action and urged them to allow their actions to be guided by the three 'Rs' of the environment, thus; Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

Ms Nkrumah explained that to reduce the use of plastics, they must avoid buying of foods in plastics bags and instead take their mugs and bowls to buy directly from vendors.

"We can also use cloth bags instead of plastic bags, reuse bottles and plastic bags severally before disposing them off. Also look out for avenues to recycle waste for example in NCCE we give all our paper waste to a recycling company which in turn gives us toilet rolls." She explained.

Mrs Gloria Amarkie Kudo, the Municipal Director for NCCE-LaDMA said the celebration was to nurture the culture of cleanliness and good hygiene among the children and the youth.

She said this would help the younger generation to appreciate the need to protect their environment to achieve the theme of this year.

"It is my hope that today's forum will help us acquire the needed tools to fight some of our bad practices such as indiscriminate disposal of waste, open defecation and other habits that pollute the environment." She said.

Chief Superintendent Eric Asiedu of the Airport Division of the Ghana Police Service who chaired the function said littering the environment through dumping of refuse into unauthorised places were demeanours and were punishable by law.

He urged citizens to abide by the law to ensure that their health and productivity was improved.

The Citizenship Week, also known as Constitutional week, is marked annually to remind Ghanaians of the referendum that saw the country move from a Military regime to a Constitutional era.