Make cleaning compulsory in public places - Prof. Anyidoho

The Director of New York University Campus in Ghana, Professor Akosua Anyidoho, says the country needs to adopt and enforce minimum cleaning standards in public places.

She said the Ministries of Sanitation and Water Resource; and Environment, Science and Technology, as well the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), must ensure that companies that operated in commercial buildings made adequate provision for cleaning services as part of a national effort to help promote cleaning in workplaces. 

She made the proposal at the 10th Anniversary of Spaklean, a commercial cleaning service provider in Accra, recently. 

To help enforce the measure, Prof. Anyidoho said regulatory institutions in the built environment must ensure that prospective property owners had provisions for minimum cleaning standards before granting permits for such buildings to commence.

This, she said, would help raise the standards of commercial cleaning which she said had been an eyesore.

She explained that it was high time the country focused on setting minimum cleaning standards as most companies failed to make provision for it, making it difficult for people to use such facilities.

“The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resource, Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) must give attention to commercial cleaning in public places. The GSA must look at the provision made for cleaning services to be provided before granting permits to operate,” she said.

She also urged companies to start investing in professional custodial services as that was the way to go to ensure that minimum cleaning standards were observed. 

Enhancing standards

The Managing Director of Spaklean, Mrs Dinah Owusu-Kissi, said the company planned to set up a school in the medium-term to train janitors to champion the cleaning agenda in the country. 

She said the company, after 10 years of operations, intended to use the school to train professionals to get cleaning standards for the country. 

She further explained in an interview that “We are going to train those we call custodial management technicians. We will help people to know the chemistry of cleaning and also train people on safety measures when cleaning.” 

Mrs Owusu-Kissi said it was important for people to appreciate the cleaning profession and to understand that cleaning was not just about taking a mop and using it. 

Spaklean at 10

Spaklean, which started in 2007 with four employees, currently boasts 500 staff. 

At the anniversary launch, the company assured its customers of improved service delivery in the coming years. 

“Our customers should expect more commitment. We are going to make sure we offer them better services. We will up our game and improve on our services in line with our mission of making the ambience of our clients very comfortable for business,” the company’s MD said.

The Director of New York University Campus in Ghana, Professor Akosua Anyidoho, says the country needs to adopt and enforce minimum cleaning standards in public places.

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