A refuse dump
Government has expressed worry about the deplorable sanitation situation which has bedevilled the Accra metropolis over the last couple of weeks, causing a lot of public anxiety due to the health implications associated with such condition.
In view of that, it had released a cheque of GH₵ 600,000 through the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to the nine waste management contractors to help them clear the refuse.
Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum, a Deputy Minister of Local Government and Rural Development in a statement said, as part of short-term solution for clearing the piled up waste, the AMA had directed the management of the Kpone engineering landfill site to extend their working hours from 2:00am to 10:00pm each day including Sundays.
He said the Ministry was also looking for an alternative temporary disposal site within Accra metropolis to be used for waste disposal.
Mr Agyekum disclosed that government as part of long-term plans had secured funds to begin the construction of two waste engineered recycling and landfill facilities in the south-western part of Accra.
He said the project which is expected to be completed in the next 18 months would reduce the recent pressure on the Kpone landfill and related high cost that waste management service providers incur in the delivery of sanitation services within the Accra metropolis.
Mr Agyekum said the Ministry would continue to seek for funding to provide the required infrastructure such as waste treatment and disposal facilities at vantage point in the Accra metropolis and other municipalities to ensure that waste generated within those areas were properly managed.
He urged Ghanaians to engage in good sanitary practices, exhibit good waste management behaviour and attitude and pay for waste management service rendered to them promptly to ensure sustainable waste management service delivery in the country.
The Chief Executive of the AMA, Dr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije at a press briefing in Accra said adequate measures were being put into place to ensure that the sanitation problem in Accra would be over by January 2014.
The government pledged to, within the next two weeks, ensure that the assembly paid an additional GH¢600,000 to the contractors to enable them to pay the company operating the only remaining landfill site at Kpone.
The AMA, over the past three years owed waste management contractors GH₵2.2 million, a situation that has undermined their capacity to pay waste dumping fees.
By Cephas Larbi
This article has 0 comment, leave your comment.