Nationwide refuse evacuation exercise takes off in Accra - Move seeks to prevent floods

Three dumping sites in Ayawaso West Wuogon Municipality have been cleared to help improve on sanitation and prevent floods in Accra.

The areas are La Bawaleshie, near the Bawaleshie School, Okponglo and Mepeasem dumping sites.

It is part of an ongoing nationwide refuse evacuation exercise on dumping sites under the Government Clean Ghana Agenda aimed at resolving the sanitation challenges in the country.

It is championed by the government through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) in collaboration with the Ayawaso West Wuogon Municipal Assembly (AWMA) in the Accra Zone.

The implementing partners of the project, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, deployed trucks and technical expertise to convey the refuse to its final dumping site at Nsawam.

Speaking during the beginning of the exercise in Accra, the Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO), Sani Mutala, who thanked the ministry for embarking on the exercise, explained that the evacuation would ensure that refuse did not cause floods in the area.

10-year-old dumping sites

He said those sites were over 10 years old for which reason the evacuation of the refuse was a relief for students and residents living there.

He pleaded with Zoomlion to increase the number of waste containers at the sites to three to ensure that at all material times, there was a container for people to dump their waste to discourage residents from littering the ground.

Attitudinal change

Mr Mutala challenged Ghanaians to change their attitude towards the environment because mostly, either “we are ignorant about our actions or we deliberately do so.

“We cannot blame the government when we ourselves are not responsible to the environment.

Go to people’s houses, the water that they bath cannot flow; it becomes stagnant and breeds mosquitoes,” he said.

The officer encouraged Ghanaians to clean their immediate environments and homes to, at least, the middle of the road to complement the ongoing “Operation Clean Your Frontage” campaign.

Excitement

The Assemblyman for the Okponglo Electoral Area, Ishmael Djani, expressed excitement about the assembly’s decision to evacuate the waste which had led to the outbreak of malaria and other diseases in the area.

“Finally, our cry has been heard by the authorities; we are grateful to the ministry, the Assembly and Zoomlion for their timely support to clear all the waste from our society,” he added.