The government is set to review Ghana’s waste management system following an assessment of key waste management facilities across the Greater Accra Region.
The assessment, led by the Minister responsible for the sector, Hon. Mahama Ayariga, covered the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP), the Achimota and Jamestown Waste Transfer Stations, and the Kpone landfill.
The exercise was aimed at identifying challenges and gaps in the entire waste management chain, including waste collection, transportation, treatment, recycling and final disposal.
Mr Ayariga said the proposed reforms would begin at the source, with households encouraged to separate waste before it is collected.
He also advocated the establishment of strategically located transfer stations and treatment facilities to improve the efficiency of waste management and reduce the cost associated with transporting waste over long distances.
A key proposal under the review is the adoption of the polluter-pays principle, which would require households, businesses and industries to contribute towards the management and disposal of the waste they generate.
The Minister further called on Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to improve the collection of property rates, market rates and other statutory revenues to provide sustainable funding for sanitation services.
He stressed that revenues collected for waste management must be used transparently and accountably to build public confidence and ensure value for money.
Mr Ayariga also cautioned against excessive reliance on the Common Fund to finance waste management in Accra, arguing that locally generated revenue must play a greater role in sustaining sanitation services.
The assessment also explored opportunities for investment in Ghana’s waste management infrastructure.
The Vice President for Operations and Secretary General of the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA), Dr Fatima Elsheikh, participated in the exercise and expressed the Bank’s readiness to support Ghana’s efforts to strengthen and modernise the waste management sector.
