The country’s worsening waste management crisis has reached a point where it can no longer afford to treat sanitation as somebody else’s responsibility.
The situation at the Kpone Landfill Site, which has reached full capacity and has a strong stench hanging over it, is a worrying reminder of the consequences of years of inadequate and unsustainable waste management.
It is against this background that the government’s decision to change how waste management is financed deserves serious attention.
The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga during a tour yesterday, said the government will no longer allow waste management to be financed through public funds.
Instead, sanitation rates due Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) will be paid and properly utilised.
The Ghanaian Times supports this position. For too long, waste management has been treated largely as a government responsibility, while many households, businesses and property owners have not fully paid for the waste they generate.
That arrangement is neither fair nor sustainable. Waste does not disappear after it is collected.
It has to be transported, treated and disposed of safely, and all of that requires money.
If residents and businesses want reliable waste collection and a cleaner environment, they must be prepared to pay the appropriate sanitation rates.
Mr Ayariga’s position that the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) should not be used to subsidise waste management in Accra also deserves support.
The Common Fund is intended to support development across the country.
Using resources meant for development in other parts of Ghana to address Accra’s sanitation needs cannot be a sustainable solution.
However, citizens and businesses must not be the only ones held responsible.
Government and the MMDAs must also fulfil their part of the bargain.
There can be no justification for demanding sanitation rates from the public if the money collected is not properly accounted for or translated into efficient waste management services.
The Minister’s call for citizens to demand accountability from MMDAs is therefore important.
Every cedi collected as sanitation revenue must be properly accounted for, while MMDAs must demonstrate that the money is being used for its intended purpose.
The government must also strengthen enforcement against indiscriminate dumping and other poor sanitation practices.
Its planned campaign against improper sanitation is welcome, but public education must go hand in hand with consistent enforcement of sanitation laws.
Factories, companies, households and other major waste generators must also be made to understand that they have a responsibility to keep Ghana clean.
The waste crisis is not merely an environmental issue. It is a public health and development challenge that threatens communities and undermines the quality of life of citizens.
The government must, therefore, move quickly from announcements to action. MMDAs must collect sanitation rates efficiently, account for the money and provide the services citizens are paying for.
Citizens, businesses and property owners, on their part, must pay their sanitation rates and stop treating waste management as a free service.
The Ghanaian Times maintains that a clean country requires shared responsibility.
Those who generate waste must pay for its proper management, while MMDAs must account fully for the sanitation revenues they collect and ensure that the money is used for its intended purpose.
At the same time, those who flout sanitation laws must face firm and consistent enforcement.
Waste management cannot continue to be treated as a free service, nor can the burden be left entirely on public funds.
The nation cannot afford another cycle of promises and neglect. The time has come to make sanitation a national priority and cleanliness a shared responsibility.
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