By: Rachel Quartey
The government is set to overhaul Ghana’s waste management system, with the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs vowing to enforce the payment of sanitation-related rates by households, businesses and industries.
The Sector Minister, Mahama Ayariga, says the move is necessary to address the growing waste management challenge and ensure that those who generate waste take responsibility for its disposal.
He made the commitment when he toured major waste management facilities in Accra to assess their operations and obtain first-hand information on the challenges confronting the sector.
The facilities visited included the Lavinder Hill at Korle-Bu, the Achimota-Abofu Transfer Station, the Kpone Landfill Site, the Kpone Landfill Decomposition Project Site and the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant at Adjen Kotoku.
Kpone landfill reaches capacity
At the Kpone Landfill Site, which serves Tema, Kpone-Katamanso and parts of Accra, the facility has reached its capacity, with a strong stench emanating from the site.
Mr. Ayariga said the facility would have to be decommissioned as development has caught up with the area, with factories and other structures now surrounding the site.
He said government would explore options for managing the methane gas buried under the landfill, including the possibility of extracting it for energy generation.
However, he said technical assessments would be required to determine the volume of gas available, the duration for which it could be extracted and whether such an investment would be economically viable.
The Minister also said the government would examine other options for safely covering and redeveloping the site, stressing that leaving the decommissioned landfill open posed a threat to public health.
Polluter-pays principle
Mr. Ayariga said the government would enforce the “polluter pays” principle, insisting that factories, businesses, households and other establishments that generate waste must pay the appropriate rates to the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
He said improved collection of property rates, market rates and other revenues due the assemblies would provide the resources needed to address waste management and other basic services.
“Industry, government, which has hosted the capital in Accra, and then businesses, all of them must contribute for us to deal with the problem of waste management in the city,” he said.
The Minister maintained that waste management in Accra should not be financed from the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF), which is intended to support development across the country.
He argued that residents and businesses operating in Accra should pay for the waste they generate rather than rely on funds meant for development in other parts of the country.
War against indiscipline
Mr. Ayariga also announced plans for a campaign against poor sanitation practices, describing indiscipline as a major contributor to Ghana’s waste management problem.
He, however, acknowledged that assemblies must also make it easier for residents to pay their rates and must account for how the funds collected are used.
He said the resources should be channelled into improving waste management, street lighting, roads, green spaces, security and other basic amenities.
The Minister further called on the media and the public to hold both residents and local authorities accountable, stressing that authorities must be answerable when revenues collected are not used for their intended purposes.
He said he would engage MMDCEs, Regional Ministers and other stakeholders to develop practical measures for improving waste management and its financing.
Mr. Ayariga acknowledged the scale of the challenge but expressed confidence that it could be addressed through coordinated efforts by the Ministry, assemblies and other relevant agencies.
For her part, the Vice President of Operations of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Dr. Fatima Farouk Elsheikh El Toum, commended the government’s commitment to addressing the waste management challenge and pledged her organisation’s support for initiatives aimed at improving the sector.
