Close Mallam Market dump site now — ESPA

Member of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) want the illegal refuse dump at the Mallam Market in Accra closed immediately in order to avert another national disaster, considering that the rains in Accra were yet to intensify.

According to the Executive Secretary of the ESPA, Ms Ama Ofori Antwi, the dump, which is sited on a wetland right behind the Mallam Market, posed enormous environmental and health risks to the hundreds of people who lived in that part of the capital as well as patrons of the market.

Wetlands play an important role, particularly during the rainy season by holding water and releasing it gradually to avoid flooding.

According to Ms Ofori Antwi, the appalling conditions were being made worse by the existence of a slum that was developing close to the dump.

She expressed disappointment in the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) for failing to halt the practice of dumping of refuse illegally at the site months after the association had expressed concern over the situation.

Ms Antwi called on the AMA to order a stop of activities at the Mallam Market refuse dump site and evacuate the refuse to an appropriate landfill site as a means of safeguarding the health and wellbeing of residents, traders and patrons of the market.

Wetland

According to reliable sources, ever since the executive of the market association renewed efforts to reclaim land from the wetland some time last year, the area, which used to be an internationally recognised bird sanctuary, had so far received over 350,000 tonnes of refuse.

During the day, there are about 150 'boola taxis’ that come to dump waste at the site. At night, close to 100 vehicles and refuse-carrying trucks also dislodge their waste there.

"This is disaster in waiting and we must not look on till the worse happens before we act. What is even more serious is that the illegal waste dump has blocked waterways and some drains in the vicinity, further putting the lives of residents, traders and customers in danger. I am appealing to the AMA, therefore, to act now," she stressed.

Ms Antwi said the ESPA, which is an umbrella body of all waste contractors in the country, was promoting a ‘no dumping into drains’ campaign to ensure that all channels were free when it rained.

Accra currently does not have a landfill site and the grounds behind the Mallam Market has become a major dumping site for waste generated in the metropolis.