According to him, it behooves on city authorities to enforce sanitation laws, educate citizens and provide the needed support to prevent littering, and the indiscriminate dumping of refuse in open spaces to ensure a cleaner city.

The Archbishop said this when the Mayor of Accra, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, called on him to discuss strategies by the Assembly to deal with the city’s sanitation challenges and sign the Clean Accra Charter.

The Clean Accra Charter is a set of guiding ethos to advance the vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

The charter “recognises  that  residents neighbours, workers, institutions and visitors to the city  have a fundamental obligation to put forward their best efforts on daily basis to ensure a clean, healthy and safe environment in Accra, now and in the future.”

It also  commits citizens to be “watchdogs against insanitary and disorderly development activities in Accra, and report  these to the notice of city authorities for immediate action” as well as ” waste prevention, reduction, reuse, recycling , organised disposal of refuse and proper use of public spaces.”

Charles Palmer-Buckle urged citizens to be conscious of the negative impacts of droping a plastic on the environment, and admonished all to desist from the practice.

” Scientifically, when you drop a plastic it takes a 100 years to decompose and so if we have over 2 million people littering the streets of Accra then you can understand the seriousness of the problem, ” he said, adding that   laws must be enforced.

The Archbishop stressed the need for synergy in order to work for the greater good of the people and pledge to support  the AMA  to ensure a clean Accra.

“My Pope came out with a document some few years ago titled ‘Care for our Common Home’… He talked about sanitation, climate change and a whole lot of challenges. So we have it as a responsibility and  duty to conscientise our people to care for our common home. We have as many as 22 Catholic churches and over 4000 members in Greater Accra. I owe it a responsibility to the AMA to be ready and willing to collaborate and contribute on any project that involves the people,” he said.

“I will quickly inform all my priests in Accra to talk about sanitation issues during their sermons as part of efforts to complement the assembly’s public education measures because it is our responsibility,” he added.

Mohammed Adjei Sowah thanked the Archbishop for his commitment towards the Clean Accra Project, and observed that the signing of the charter reaffirms the Catholic church’s commitment to a Clean environment.

“Religious leaders are a major influence in society and we want to plead with you, to add sanitation issues as part of your delivering either in sermons or wherever you find yourselves,” he appealed.

Mohammed Adjei Sowah also informed the Archbishop of measures to beautify the city of Accra, in the coming days.

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Source: AMA

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The AMA boss, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, noted that Accra currently has two sanitation courts.

According to Mr. Adjei Sowah, the Assembly among other things has facilitated the construction of 400 household toilets within three months under the GAMA project.

Speaking at a program on fixing Ghana’s sanitation problems organized by IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, he said the operation of these courts will make the process of dealing with sanitation offenders easier.

“We are targeting to have five sanitation courts so that these are dedicated to deal with issues of sanitation because when you send these issues of sanitation to the magistrate court, they have their own technicality that prolongs the cases,” he said.

He noted that funds are been sought to renovate the already existing courts and the finish up the uncompleted ones.

President Nana Akufo-Addo, as part of the National Sanitation Campaign, announced in 2017 a National Sanitation Brigade to enforce sanitation laws nationwide.

This brigade, to be made up of Ghanaian youth, will police adherence to the rules and regulations on sanitation in both state and private properties.

“The personnel of this outfit would conduct regular visits to all offices to ensure that there is compliance and, where it so requires, take legal action against those infringing on the laws,” President Akufo-Addo stated.

President Akufo-Addo has promised to make Accra the cleanest city by the end of his first term.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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They are Agricultural Development Bank (adb), the Korle bu Branch of the Ghana Private Transport Union (GPRTU), Abbosey Okai branch of Ghana Oil (GOIL), Samir Engineering Company, Prudential Bank, Access Bank and the Yellow City Hotel.

[contextly_sidebar id=”TPwyjghF03ENjG9wuszi6fY5E8mgYnrd”]The court fined the nine institutions various amounts of money totaling GH¢2,280.00 equivalent to 190 penalty units for their refusal to register with the AMA Accredited Waste Management Contractor assigned to their areas of operation.

The Prudential bank, GOIL, GPRTU, adb and Samir Engineering were made to pay a fine of GH¢360.00 each, while Access bank and Yellow city hotel also paid GH¢240.00 each due to their efforts to register after the summons.

Mr. Edward Nii Ayi Okai, the prosecutor told the court presided by Madam Linda Amissah that the institutions failed to comply with the Assembly’s directive to register with its accredited Waste Management Contractor to collect their waste.

Madam Amissah in her ruling urged the offending institutions to be ambassadors of a clean environment while cautioning that anyone found flouting AMA by-laws would be made to face severe sanctions to serve as a deterrent to others.

She called on organisations that have not registered with waste service providers under the polluter-pay policy to do so.

A bench warrant was issued for the arrest of the Abossey Okai branch Managers of Ghana Commercial Bank and Best Point Savings and Loans for their failure to appear before court when they were summoned.

In another development, some 11 persons including; two women, have been arrested by the AMA for allegedly dumping household refuse on the Kaneshie section of the Accra-Kasoa Highway.

They are Janet Ganu, Constance Badu, Eko Kobina, Eric Mensah, Richard Asumani, Afamu Cyril, Theophilus Ashong, Evans Tettey, Kwaku Frimpong, Nii Okine and one other person who gave his name as Awudome Cemetery.

The suspects, who live in and around Kaneshie, were grabbed between 9:00pm and 4.30 am on Thursday when the officials of the Okaikoi South Sub- Metro carried out an operation with the assistance of the police.

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Source: GNA

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The donation is aimed at helping the AMA realize its sanitation projection and the president’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in the African Region by the year 2020.

The move, which forms part of the corporate social responsibility of Zoomlion is also geared towards helping reduce communicable diseases and other diseases that are contracted through excessive filth in the cities.

The company believes this is only an add-up to the numerous activities they have been embarking on to clean the whole country.

Speaking at a short ceremony to hand over the vehicles and other items to the chief executive officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, the Managing Director of Zoomlion Ghana limited, Mrs. Florence Larbi, said the company is committed to push the presidential initiative to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

“We are privileged to be a part of the clean Ghana agenda. In this year’s state of the nation address given by our dear president Nana Akufo-Addo, he outlined the need for us to resource our sub-metros so that they will deliver on their mandate to keep the city clean, and in support of that we want to stand behind our hardworking mayor to donate 10 pickups, 20 motorized tricycles and other cleaning logistics to the tune of 1.5 million Ghana cedis in support of the clean Ghana agenda” Mrs. Florence Larbi said.

Mrs. Larbi expressed the hope that the donation will boost supervision of  sanitation activities in the capital. She stressed that management of Zoomlion is ever ready to provide effective private sector support to the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, and the larger government in any form that will help government achieve its target and also to drive the country towards achieving the Sustainable development goal on sanitation.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah, was very excited about the benevolence of Zoomlion Ghana Ltd towards the Accra Metropolitan assembly, and their desire to see the president’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city materialize.

The AMA boss said, “it is established that your company is a leading company in waste management in the whole of this country. The Accra Metropolitan Assembly has a long standing relationship with Zoomlion company. When we started our polluter phase system, we gave out some sub metro to the Zoomlion company, such as the Ayawaso West Wuogon and some other areas which we are working at, however the president’s call that Accra should be the cleanest city by the end of his tenure, is an enormous task given to us. We are fully aware of the challenge and we are working assiduously towards achieving the president’s objective. ”

“For the AMA, activities are already in place to achieve this vision, and they have adopted a 3-point approach which includes education, enforcement of by-laws and the provision of infrastructure and logistics to support the project. These pickups and other logistics have come in handy. These pickups as donated will help us to enforce our by-laws in our respective sub-metros,” said Mr.  Sowah.

According to the AMA Chief Executive, the motorcycles from Zoomlion will help the AMA in clearing small heaps of refuse in gutters and in residential areas.

He took the opportunity to outline some plans and policies of the AMA in dealing with the use of motorcycles to boost the collection of waste.

The management of Zoomlion Ghana reiterated their commitment to help the country achieve SDG goals on sanitation and the president’s vision for 2020.

The company has for many years undertaken several interventions to improve sanitation in the country.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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As such, businesses are expected to be closed between 6:00am and 10:00am to ensure full participation of all in the exercise.

[contextly_sidebar id=”jrLV249trn9DCvj8LXgmnf8jwKn5MU4F”]The movement of commercial vehicles within the areas will also be limited within the period.

According to the Assembly, the move is part of efforts aimed at ensuring cleanliness in Accra, in line with President Akufo-Addo’s vision of making the capital, the cleanest city in Africa by 2020.

“This is just one of the many ways that we have strategized to make sure that Accra indeed becomes clean and everyone must play a part,” Mohammed Adjei Sowah, Metropolitan Chief Executive of the AMA told Citi News.

He added that the Assembly will henceforth enforce its bye-laws on sanitation and will not hesitate to punish anyone or group of persons found to be in violation of the laws.

The last time a similar exercise was carried out in Accra was in December 2017.

‘Sanitation in Accra’

Sanitation in Accra can best be described as one of the worst in the country, despite commitments and pledges to reverse the situation by city authorities.

Reports by Citi FM over the last 6 months revealed that some major roads within the capital were gradually being narrowed due to the regular dumping of refuse along the roads.

The government as part of plans to address the situation, launched the National Sanitation Campaign to undertake series of activities that will eventually make the capital, Accra, the cleanest city in Africa.

As part of the campaign, the President announced a National Sanitation Brigade to enforce sanitation laws nationwide. This brigade, to be made up Ghanaian youth, will police the adherence to the rules and regulations on sanitation in both state and private properties.

“Everyday is Sanitation Day. I recognize, however, that the government cannot do it alone. This is where I wish to call on all of us, especially our Chiefs and Queen Mothers, religious and opinion leaders, civil society organisations, private sector operators, to rise up to the challenge and help make a difference this time around,” President Akufo-Addo said at the launch of the event.

But there has not been any major improvement since the launch of the campaign.
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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to him, despite being responsible for the development of the capital, the Assembly has to contend with other agencies which have the primary responsibility for certain key social services.

He added in the more developed nations, the local assemblies have greater control over the development of their jurisdictions, enabling them to easily implement any development agendas in the interests of the citizens.

“You travel around the world and are proud to go to certain megacities and see things over there. But what is the governance structure in those cities? I sit here as the Mayor of Accra but I don’t control the Ghana Police Service or the Ghana Health Service so I don’t control all the clinics in Accra. These are all complementary factors that could factor in your planning of the city,” he said at the launch of The Ghana Action Series, a campaign by One Ghana Movement and Citi FM.

Likening Accra to Pizza, he lamented that different agencies of state each control ‘slices’, leaving the AMA with the difficult task of coordinating all these bodies to ensure the development of the capital.

He insisted that unless the AMA and its officials are given more control in the management of Accra, issues with sanitation might never be fully addressed.

“You are left to handle one side of the city; the city is like Pizza, the AMA has one side and a Ministry has another portion. If we don’t address the issue holistically, we’ll come back to the table, that’s where my concern is. If we don’t address the governance issue critically, we’ll be talking to the Ministry of Sanitation, the Accra Metropolitan Assembly differently. In many cities that have been ranked as the cleanest city, the governance issue is very clear. The city is directly in charge of all operations and then you can call the shots,” he added.

Inadequate infrastructure

The Accra Mayor also lamented the lack of infrastructure to ensure that waste that is generated in the capital daily is properly disposed of.

He stated that the only landfill site in the city does not operate throughout the day, leaving residents with no choice but to dump their waste at inappropriate locations.

“It’s about infrastructure. The truth is that we don’t have it at all. Currently, in the whole of the Accra Region, we have only one landfill site, which is not engineered, at Kpone. Technically in about one and a half years, the Kpone landfill site will get full and we’ll be in trouble. In Accra, the Kpone landfill site doesn’t operate 24 hours. Have you ever seen a city that is running waste management that does not operate 24/7? But the Mayor does not control the Kpone landfill site. So by 5 pm, the Kpone landfill site is closed,” he said.

The Right Way

The Ghana Action Series, which includes The Right Way initiative, was launched today [Tuesday] is geared towards improving sanitary conditions in the country.

The Director of News Programming at Citi FM, Benard Avle, told Citi News, “the rains have started and we want to know what the AMA has done to make sure that we don’t have repeated flooding, and we also want to understand from the point of the view of the Sanitation Minister, what he has been doing since he took office and what specific things he is set to do in the next few weeks to ensure that dream of making Accra the cleanest city… It is one of the things we are doing to carrying the conversation from mere intention to action”

Ghana’s problem with filth is well documented and can be accurately described, as plastic waste is noted as a major sanitation problem nationwide.

The capital, Accra is inundated with waste and uncollected garbage despite promises by various assemblies to improve the situation.

The sight of refuse dumped on the streets or on pavements is not uncommon, with the rubbish sometimes being left by waste management companies.

President Nana Akufo-Addo in 2017 pledged to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa by the end of his tenure in office although doubts have been raised about this plan given the current situation.

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By: Edwin Kwakofi/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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According to the AMA, the program forms part of efforts to inculcate a waste management culture in the citizenry.

[contextly_sidebar id=”ERdURM2q6teEYiXfkRrLxfxwWV6LMkad”]Speaking to Citi News, the Chief Resilience Officer and Sustainability Advisor at the AMA, Desmond Chris Appiah, said his outfit would ensure that the waste from these Senior High Schools is sorted into four different categories at source, from where they can be disposed of or recycled.

“We really want to stop littering, because if there are a lot of bins in the school, the students will not be littering, pretty soon we will be rolling out the basic school segregation to the other sub-metro so that we begin to build the culture that we all interested,” he said.

This initiative is also aimed at fast-tracking the process of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa, in-line with the president’s vision.

He added that the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city will require a lot of effort from Ghanaians.

To ensure the sustainability of the project, the assembly presented some 300 waste bins to selected Senior High Schools within the metropolis.

“There was also a training program for the schools after the distribution of the bins and they were trained and taken through the basics, we are going to soon introduce some award scheme for the schools that are doing so well, so these are some of the little things we are doing to make sure these things come to stay and not just be a flash in the palm,” he said.

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By: Farida Yusif/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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They are Theophilus Amar Kwasi, Samuel Nunu, Albert Ayitey, Victor Thompson, Albert Cudjoe, Ebenezer Larbi, Abu Sackey, Emmanuel Nortey Oquaye, Emmanuel Anyidoho, Abubakar Awal and Fatau Yussif.

Head of Public Affairs, Gilbert Nii Ankrah, disclosed this to the media in an interview on the progress made so far on the ongoing decongestion exercise by the Assembly and strategies that had ensured its sustenance since the exercise begun on January 8.

He said the 11, who were stationed at some specific streets within the Central Business District of Accra were spotted by the Assembly’s monitoring team taking unspecified sums of money from some traders, loitering and sleeping on duty.

“They were not enforcing the law and this is not acceptable…let me put on record that the AMA will not hesitate to dismiss anyone who is sleeping on the job,” he said.

According to the Mr. Ankrah prior to the exercise members of the taskforce were warned not to engage in acts which would undermine the sustenance of the exercise.

“People all over the country and beyond are applauding us for the good work done… [The members of] our taskforce have been warned not to compromise but remain disciplined. We will not hesitate to dismiss any recalcitrant person who tries to undermine the system,” he said.

He expressed satisfaction with the level of compliance by traders and stakeholders and assured that the Assembly would not relent on sustaining the exercise to rid the city of filth, lawlessness and increase mobility.

Mr. Ankrah also commended the police for their support and called on all to rally behind the assembly’s strategies to transform Accra into a Smart, Sustainable and Resilient City where we can all “live in and love it.”

The PRO urged traders to abide by the directive and warned that anyone caught going against the metropolitan assembly’s rules would be dealt with.

“We are calling on all pedestrians to endeavour to use the pavement since it is meant for them”, he averred.

The AMA began the exercise to rid hawkers and traders from pavements and footbridges in the metropolis as part of efforts to decongest the city.

According to Assembly the activities of the traders and hawkers impede the flow of vehicular and human traffic and contribute to the heaps of garbage along major streets of the metropolis.

The ongoing exercise being spearheaded by the Metropolitan Security Committee (MESEC),  comprising of the police, the military, and the AMA taskforce is expected to cover the Central Business District(CBD), Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, Kaneshie Market Area, N1 highway (Lapaz Intersection) among others.

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Source: AMA

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The Metropolitan Chief Executive of the AMA, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, noted on Eyewitness News that even the Ghana Revenue Authority [GRA] office in Adabraka, had written to the Assembly for some reprieve.

[contextly_sidebar id=”CsE5y1b1HiybTY9aPtq4S67FOP8Dcnit”]”Our offices are wide open and they are serving the people of Accra. We are serving the various institutions, so once you come with genuine concerns, we can always negotiate with you… I know that the Ghana Revenue Authority had written to us that they are appealing to us to waive it for them because they are a government institution so we are looking at it,” the AMA boss noted.

The AMA will begin the implementation of the levy today [Tuesday], and as things stand, Mr. Adjei Soway stressed that “if you have a company with multiple vehicles, you have to pay for all of them… If you have a company with about four or five vehicles, you have to pay for all.”

Resistance from Adabraka car owners

The move has bee met with some resistance with some vehicle owners at Adabraka expressing their displeasure with the levies.

According to them, they levy is unnecessary, considering that they already pay other tolls imposed by the AMA.

But Mr. Adjei Sowah insisted that “we are only saying that once you don’t have [a parking facility], we are providing you with the facility, pay for it and I don’t think that is a problem.”

Background

Last week, the AMA served notice to businesses within Adabraka of its intention to charge them for using specific streets that will be earmarked for parking of vehicles.

Car owners are expected to buy a sticker for GHc8 to allow them to park on designated spaces along the streets in the metropolis, and subsequently pay an amount of GHc4 every day per vehicle.

Other guests visiting companies who park in those allotted spaces and do not have the stickers will pay GHc2 for every two hours.

The letter to the companies, which was signed by the Metro Coordinating Director, Sam Ayeh-Dartey, said the Assembly had granted private firm, Messrs Colums Park Investment, the right to collect the monies for “on-street parking” within the Adabraka area in the Osu Klottey sub-metro beginning January 2018.

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By: Delali Adogla-Bessa/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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The appointment, according to AMA, is an essential step of Accra’s resilience-building efforts, and its partnership with 100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation.

The 100 Resilient Cities (100RC) organization, is part of a $164 million commitment by The Rockefeller Foundation to build urban resilience in 100 cities around the world.

[contextly_sidebar id=”HRdG1w3P9RfyuFUEOf2B3f5KxKrZK2CD”]Accra’s engagement with 100 Resilient Cities kicked off in 2014 with a “Resilience Agenda-Setting Workshop.”

As Chief Resilience Officer, Mr. Appiah will play a leading role in city-wide resilience building efforts to help the city prepare for, withstand, and bounce back from the ‘shocks’ – catastrophic events like fires, floods, and disease outbreak – and ‘stresses’ – slow-moving disasters like environmental degradation, ageing infrastructure, and unemployment, which are increasingly part of 21st century life.

Mr. Appiah is the second person to hold the Chief Resilience Officer position in Accra, and is expected to continue with the progress made by his predecessor.

Speaking about Mr. Appiah’s appointment, the Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, said “Desmond has broad experience working across the West African sub-region, as well as in Europe and the United States, in the design and implementation of systems that support long-term sustainable development goals. We are pleased to welcome him on board to lead the development of Accra’s Resilience Strategy.”

As Chief Resilience Officer, Mr. Appiah will report directly to Mr. Sowah, and shall oversee the development and implementation of a comprehensive Resilience Strategy for the city.

The position will be fully funded by 100RC.

Commenting on his new role, Mr. Appiah said, the challenges faced by a rapidly growing city like Accra are many and multifaceted, adding hat developing and implementing strategies that ensure an appreciation of integrated approaches or linkages and interdependencies in the planning process, will determine the way cities like Accra can become resilient through harnessing the opportunities that such growth can present in the immediate as well as the longer term.”

The CRO is an innovative feature of 100RC’s resilience building program, specifically designed to break down existing barriers at the local level, account for pre-existing resilience plans, and create partnerships, alliances and financing mechanisms that will address the resilience vulnerabilities of all city residents, with a particular focus on low-income and vulnerable populations.

Mr. Appiah will receive personnel and technical support provided by 100RC; and utilize resilience building tools from private, public, academic, and NGO sector organizations that have partnered with 100RC.

“Desmond Appiah joins a network of peers from cities across the globe that will share best practices and surface innovative thinking,” said Michael Berkowitz, President of 100 Resilient Cities. Accra will become a global leader in resilience, and he will be an asset for Accra and other cities around the world.”

Mr. Appiah will be charged with fostering a citywide dialogue that ultimately cultivates a holistic view of resilience.

About Desmond Chris Appiah

Mr. Desmond C. Appiah h Europe, he worked with blue-chip manufacturing enterprises to develop and implement strategies for proactive management in meeting environmental, health and safety standards and manufacturing quality specifications.

He also led initiatives to meet governmental standards on the Climate Change Levy targets which further aided the attainment of improved energy use mix requirements and standards.

In the United States, he worked on initiatives that promoted improved environmental compliance within Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region III and supported by Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Pennsylvania (AICUP).

In Ghana, Mr. Appiah has worked as a consultant, providing quality, health, safety and environmental management for clients in various industries. He was a UNIDO National Expert in Quality Assurance offering advice to selected companies to enhance operational performance and efficiency.

He has also been an adviser on major development projects to enhance efficiency, promote prudent resource management in energy, forestry development, product quality, employee well-being and environmental stewardship.

Desmond holds an MS in Environmental Protection & Safety Management (St Joseph’s University), MSc in Energy & Sustainable Development (De Montfort University), B.A (Hons) in Geography & Resource Development (University of Ghana), a PG Certificate in Group Crisis Intervention, and has attended many professional development seminars.

About 100 Resilient Cities—Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation

100 Resilient Cities – Pioneered by The Rockefeller Foundation (100RC), helps cities around the world become more resilient to social, economic, and physical challenges that are a growing part of the 21st century.

100RC provides this assistance through: funding for a Chief Resilience Officer in each of our cities who will lead the resilience efforts; resources for drafting a resilience strategy; access to private sector, public sector, academic, NGO resilience tools; and membership in a global network of peer cities to share best practices and challenges.

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By: citifmonline.com/Ghana

The post AMA appoints Desmond Appiah as new Chief Resilience officer appeared first on Citi 97.3 FM - Relevant Radio. Always.