The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has attributed a key part of Ghana’s sanitation problems, especially in urban areas, to a debt of GHc 892 million.
This debt is owed to sanitation service providers contracted by the state and until these debts are settled, the poor sanitation conditions will continue, according to, the sector Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda.
[contextly_sidebar id=”NyfnaCSNNBpqk2ZImOSAjCwjNUnpgnUb”]Speaking at a meeting with the Press on Thursday, Mr. Adda also said this was a debt inherited from the Mahama administration.
Ghana’s problem with filth is well documented, with plastic waste noted as a major sanitation problem nationwide.
Ghana’s capital city, Accra is inundated with rubbish and uncollected garbage which has earned it the 4th dirtiest city in West Africa.
The sight of refuse dumped on the streets or on pavements is not uncommon, with the rubbish sometimes being left by the waste management companies.
President Nana Akufo-Addo notably pledged to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa by the end of his tenure in office, but this GHc 892 debt will be a stumbling block.
“In the immediate, what has stood in the way of the timely and efficient provision of waste management services or the collection of refuse or garbage, for that matter, was an outstanding debt of GHc 892 million which the ministry inherited from the previous government owed to waste management companies,” Mr. Adda explained.
“This debt was accrued for the provision of various services such as fumigation, compensation for GYEDA [Ghana Youth Employment Development Agency], sanitation garbs, the provision of landfill management services, as well as debts arising from contracts with the ministry of Local Government and Rural Development and Metropolitan Municipal, and District Assemblies.”
Thus, “these huge debts need to be settled before effective delivery of services can be carried out” because these debts mean that the sanitation service providers argue, among other things, that “they needed fuel, they needed tires, they need to pay their workers so they were not able to collect the waste regularly the way we desire.”
Beyond this, “the value chain of waste management has not yet been well structured, nor has the financing of those services streamlined in such a manner to facilitate the easy collection, haulage, and treatment before final disposal,” Mr. Adda added.
–
By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana