[ 2014-09-21 ]

GLOPA calls on A.M.A. to change tactics on waste management in Accra
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has conceded to
the call by the Global Peace Advocacy and
Associates (GLOPA), an NGO that concerns itself
with environmental issues, that the long held idea
that sanitation maintenance in Ghana no more lies
in waste collection but rather through a proper
waste segregation and recycling system.

Speaking via phone on Joynews (MultiTV),
Environmental Officer for the A.M.A, Samuel Akoto
admitted that the A.M.A has not done enough by
solely placing value on waste collection in the
towns and city as the burden of waste management
remains a challenge in the capital.

In his telephone interaction Mr. Akoto revealed
that the A.M.A is in the known of the current
challenges and are restlessly adopting measures to
contain the situation and upgrade their
environmental management tactics in order to
ensure effective solutions.

However, Executive Director of GLOPA, Lambert
Donkor challenged the A.M.A to change their former
cause of solving the sanitation issues in the
capital by liberalizing the waste management
sector and mostly placing value on waste
management in the country as a whole in order to
make it hugely attractive to encourage a larger
workforce to contribute to the quest, stating that
"it's about time as a nation, we think and act
beyond collection and dumping of waste".

On behalf of GLOPA, Mr. Donkor suggested several
interventions to bring the situation under
control. He indicated the need to place economic
value on all properly segregated wastes to serve
as incentive for proper segregation at source by
households, traders, and the entire populace. He
also recommended that waste management be
liberalised to attract more investors into the
sector so that Government and district assemblies
could invest in the sector to generate extra
revenue.

Mr. Donkor noted it is imperative that waste
management organizations (both private and public)
are encouraged to buy segregated waste from
households and individuals to recycle for reuse,
but in order to make that work government must act
as a regulator and institute appropriate legal
regimes and institutional frameworks for efficient
operation of the sector. He believes empowered and
strengthened regulatory institutions in the sector
would enhance effective enforcement of such laws.

He concluded saying, under these modern,
innovative, effective and more sustainable
structure of Waste Segregation and Recycling
System, individuals and households would be forced
voluntarily to provide better means of collection
since they shall earn money for well segregated
waste which has potential to create sustainable
jobs in the sector thereby generating revenue for
government instead of government spending taxes on
investments in the sector.

Source - Randy Sekyi Snr

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