The Parliamentary Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources has expressed satisfaction with the progress of Zoomlion Ghana Limited's Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP) in the Oti Region. The committee, led by Chairman Hon. John Oti Bless, visited the facility at Yabram, Dambai, as part of a three-day engagement with Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Volta and Oti Regions. The committee was impressed with the level of work done on the facility, which is still undergoing development, including the completion of portions of its fencing.
Hon. Oti Bless urged the government and stakeholders to support initiatives like IRECOP to achieve a cleaner Ghana. He cited Rwanda as an example of a country that has made significant progress in sanitation through clear rules and regulations and greater public compliance. According to him, one of Ghana's major sanitation challenges is indiscipline, particularly the indiscriminate disposal of waste. He stressed that Assemblies must begin to put bye-laws in place and implement and enforce them to address this issue.
The committee also commended private waste management service providers, including Zoomlion Ghana, for their contribution to sanitation efforts in the country. Hon. Oti Bless called for stronger collaboration between government, investors, and major sanitation service providers to expand recycling and other sustainable waste management initiatives. He noted that the committee's monitoring exercise would continue, with visits to other regions, including Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Ashanti, and Eastern Regions.
During the engagement with MMDAs in Ho, the committee discussed the utilization of the 10% sanitation allocation under the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF). The discussion revealed that although the 10% was helping, it was not enough to meet the sanitation needs of the MMDAs in both regions. District Chief Executives highlighted challenges, including the lack of skip containers and inadequate incentives for sanitation workers.
The committee also observed that many districts were not incentivizing their sanitation workers well enough. For example, sweepers in North Tongu were paid between GH¢300 and GH¢350 a month, which Hon. Oti Bless described as inadequate. He urged assemblies to motivate their sanitation workers to give of their best. The engagement also revealed that some districts lacked engineered landfill sites and permanent refuse disposal sites.
The representative of the DCE for Central Tongu, Caroline Sefanu Dogbornu, lamented that the absence of a permanent disposal site in the area was hindering their sanitation efforts. Hon. Oti Bless encouraged media organizations to use their platforms to educate the public on proper sanitation practices and the importance of maintaining clean communities. He warned that indiscriminate disposal of waste could have negative consequences for the people.
The committee's visit and engagement with stakeholders aim to promote better sanitation practices and address the challenges facing the sector. Key points from the visit include the need for stronger collaboration to expand recycling initiatives, adequate funding for sanitation, and effective enforcement of sanitation bye-laws.
Key points
- The Parliamentary Sanitation Committee is impressed with Zoomlion's IRECOP progress in Oti Region.
- Inadequate funding and lack of infrastructure hinder sanitation efforts in MMDAs.
- Committee urges stronger collaboration to expand recycling and sustainable waste management initiatives.
