Six unauthorised dumpsites closed down

Six dumpsites located within the Accra metropolis and other municipalities in the city have been shut down on the directives of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources.

The dumpsites are located at the Mallam Market, Dansoman Glefe, Bawaleshie, Adedenkpo at James Town, Mpraeso, which is close to the University of Ghana, Legon, and the Trinity site, located near the Trinity Theological Seminary or the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA).

Two security men — a soldier and a policeman — have subsequently been stationed at each of the sites with the task to stop further dumping of refuse.

Evacuation of waste at the dumpsites has also started in earnest, a visit by the Daily Graphic team revealed.

The exercise is part of the government’s agenda to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa and also improve sanitation conditions at the places where the dumpsites are located.

Following the closure of the unauthorised dumpsites, waste generated in those areas will be sent directly to the existing transfer stations at Kokomlemle and ZoomPak at Achimota.

Waste containers will also be stationed at some areas to convey the waste to the main transfer stations.

The exercise will be replicated in the remaining nine regions once the pilot project in Accra ends satisfactorily.

ESPA

Members of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) are evacuating the heaped stinking refuse from the sites.

They are Atales Company Limited, Asadu Company, Rural Waste, J. Stanley-Owusu Company Limited, Accra Zone Zoomlion Limited and Tidy-up Ghana Limited.

Dumpsites tour

When the Daily Graphic visited some of the illegal dumpsites, including the 68,000 square metre dumpsite behind the Mallam Market, tractors were spotted clearing the waste from the site.

At Bawaleshie, waste management company, Atales Limited was preparing to start evacuating waste from the dumpsite.

At the Mallam Market, half of the site had already been cleared of waste and refilled with sand and gravels.

The project at the Mallam Market dumpsite is being implemented by three waste companies — J. Stanley Owusu and Co. Ltd, Asadu Waste Ltd and Rural Waste Ltd.

About the project

Briefing the Daily Graphic about the project, the General Manager of J. Stanley-Owusu and Co Ltd, Mr Isaac Offeh, said the project at the Mallam Market, the most arduous and involving, would be completed in November this year.

“After we are done with the clearing and grading, the ministry will take over the site and develop it into a recreational centre to make Accra one of the most beautiful places to visit,” Mr Offeh said.

He added that the waste management companies had decided to bear half of the cost of clearing the waste as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR).

ESPA determined

Speaking to the Daily Graphic, the Executive Secretary of ESPA, Ms Ama Ofori Antwi, said the project would cost GH¢1.5 million.

Ms Antwi said contractors had been given an average of two weeks to complete the exercise and hand over the sites to the sector ministry.

She expressed the ESPA’s readiness and determination to help solve the sanitation challenges in the region.