Newly appointed Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has called for a major overhaul of Ghana’s waste management system to improve waste collection, transportation, treatment and final disposal across the country.
Mr.Ayariga made the call on Tuesday, September 1, during a tour of key waste management facilities in the Greater Accra Region, including the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP), Achimota Waste Transfer Station and Jamestown Waste Transfer Station, all subsidiaries of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), as well as the Kpone landfill site.
The tour, which included officials of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), formed part of the Minister’s early engagements to assess gaps within the waste management value chain and explore investment opportunities to strengthen Ghana’s sanitation infrastructure.
He was accompanied by the Mayor of Accra, Michael Allotey, officials of the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, representatives of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) and other dignitaries.
The Bawku Central Member of Parliament intimated that what he had seen during the tour showed the need for a comprehensive review of the entire waste management chain.
“I decided to wake up early this morning with some of our prospective partners and my team from the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs to go around the city and see how our waste is being managed,” he said.
“There are clearly a lot of gaps in terms of the systems that we have for collecting and managing waste,” he averred.
Waste separation
According to the Minister, the problems begin from households, where waste is often mixed instead of being segregated at the source.
He said the government would have to work towards introducing systems that would encourage households to separate waste and provide appropriate bins and receptacles.
“From the homes where the waste is generated, we don’t separate them. We must put in place a system for separating it right from the homes,” Mr Ayariga said.
“We must have receptacles and waste bins so that it is easier to convey the waste from there,” he added.
He also called for improvements in the transportation of waste, saying transfer stations should be located closer to communities to reduce the distance trucks have to travel.
“We must overhaul the system of transporting the waste to the transfer stations. We must bring the transfer stations closer to our communities. And then we must bring the treatment centres and the composting centres also closer to our cities,” he said.
Mr. Ayariga said the technology and infrastructure needed to improve waste management were already available, adding that the major challenge was organising the system properly.
“The infrastructure, the technology to do all this is available. A lot of it is organisational,” he said.
Seeking investment
He also noted that the tour would provide important information for the government as it plans to mobilise investment for the waste management sector.
He disclosed that he was touring the facilities with the Vice President for Operations and Secretary General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Dr. Fatima Elsheikh, as part of efforts to explore possible financing for waste management infrastructure.
“This will serve as the basis for planning and seeking investment,” Mr Ayariga said.
He said the government was interested in mobilising resources to invest in the entire waste management chain, from collection and transportation to treatment and recycling.
According to him, the problems observed in Accra were likely to exist in other major cities across the country.
“What we’ve seen here, I believe, is just a microcosm of the infrastructure across the country. It’s not any different if you go to Kumasi or you go to Takoradi or any other major city. It’s the same thing that you will see,” he said.
Polluter-Pays Principle
Against the backdrop of the above, the immediate past Majority Leader appealed to residents to take responsibility for the cost of managing the waste they generate.
He said the government would apply the polluter-pays principle, under which individuals and properties that generate waste should contribute fairly towards its management.
“I believe in the principle of the polluter pays. If you pollute, you pay for the management of the pollution,” he said.
“Every property must pay its fair share of the cost of managing the waste,” he stressed.
However, Mr. Ayariga assured residents that the government would work to make the system more efficient and reduce the cost of waste collection for households.
He said inefficiencies in the current system, including the long distances waste trucks travel and the high operating costs faced by private waste collectors, contribute to the high fees paid by households.
“If we organise it well, we could reduce the cost per household of waste management by even 50 percent,” he said.
“The reason why it is so high…is because the system is not being efficiently managed,” he noted.
He added that the government would ensure accountability and transparency in the use of funds mobilised for waste management.
“We promise to be accountable. We promise to be efficient. We promise to be transparent, so that you see exactly how your resources are being used,” he said.
The Vice President for Operations and Secretary General of BADEA, Dr. Fatima Elsheikh, said she was impressed by the government’s determination to improve waste management in Ghana.
She said waste management should not be viewed only as an environmental challenge but also as an opportunity to create jobs, improve livelihoods and support economic development.
“I think what I saw today is inspiring. Waste is not about actual waste. It’s actually about employment opportunities that it gives to people, livelihood,” she said.
Dr. Elsheikh said a cleaner Accra would also improve the city’s attractiveness as an important African business and economic hub.
“Accra is not the capital of Ghana only. It’s one of the hubs of Africa,” she said.
She pledged her bank’s willingness to support Ghana’s efforts to improve the waste management sector.
“We’ll be happy to contribute as a development bank,” she said, adding that BADEA would be ready to work with the government on the journey towards a more sustainable waste management system.