President John Dramani Mahama has commissioned the evacuation of waste heaps from Agbogloshie in Accra to the Adepa Engineered Landfill Sites near Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs is carrying out the initiative in collaboration with the Ghana Armed Forces and the District Road Improvement Project (DRIP), with funding support from the Ministry of Finance and the District Assemblies Common Fund.
A drone AI estimate and assessment of the garbage to be moved estimates the garbage at one million tonnes. The entire operation is expected to be completed within 90 days.
President Mahama, in his address, said the exercise marks an important step in their determination to restore order, improve sanitation, and reclaim their city for the people who live and work in it.
He said what they were beginning today was significant for three main reasons:
1). First, we are putting our own capacity to work.
We are deploying heavy equipment which was secured under the District Road
Improvement Programme (DRIP), including tipper trucks, excavators, bulldozers, and wheel loaders to confront this longstanding national challenge.
2). Secondly, this exercise demonstrates what we can achieve through coordinated efforts across government.
The President said the Ministry of Finance was providing the funding, with additional support from the District Assemblies Common Fund. The Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs is leading the exercise, with operational and engineering support from the Ghana Armed Forces, particularly the 48 Engineers Regiment, which recently earned national acclaim for clearing the Accra-Kumasi Expressway.
“We are now mobilising them to clear Agbogloshie; after that, I have a lot of work for them. They have more tasks. Soldiers are not only going to go to war. They are going to be used for emergency operations,” he stated.
3). Thirdly, this exercise forms part of a broader programme to transform this area.
He said their objective was to remove a longstanding public health hazard and create conditions for lasting improvements, stating that clearing the site would make way for their proposed Agbogloshie Urban Land Renewal Project.
“When we have cleared this garbage, the land that will be reclaimed and recovered is going to be an Industrial Park. We intend to establish a major textile factory here so that they can provide employment to our young people,” he said.
President Mahama noted that the operation would end the open dumping and burning that had endangered lives and damaged the surrounding environment for far too long.
He said the evacuated waste would be transported to the Adepa Engineered Landfill for control, disposal, compaction, and covering with appropriate environmental safeguards.
He said the entire operation from evacuation, excavation, loading, transportation, and final disposal must be managed responsibly.
“We must protect the waste, the residents, road users, and the communities along the haulage routes. And that is why we are suggesting that the major haulage must take place at night in accordance with our 24-Hour Economy Initiative,” the President said.
“In the daytime, there will be some evacuation of garbage, but on a smaller scale, and then at night we go to full capacity.”
To the people of Old Fadama and Agbogloshie, the President said the operation was being undertaken for their health, their dignity, and their children’s future.
He therefore asked them to cooperate with the military personnel, the DRIP operators, and assembly teams as they carried out this demanding work in the coming weeks.