The Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Mahama Ayariga, has suggested that MTN Ghana redirect its rejected GH¢20 million offer meant to support Ghanaians evacuated from South Africa towards the evacuation of accumulated waste at the Jamestown Waste Transfer Station.
He made the suggestion as he appealed to corporate institutions, private companies, development partners and other organisations to support the government’s planned waste evacuation exercise as part of their corporate social responsibility.
“MTN, MTN can decide that the 20 million that you have rejected, we’ll come and evacuate with it to, you know, compensate for what we, our country has done,” he stated.
The Minister made the remarks during an inspection of the Jamestown Waste Transfer Station as part of efforts to mobilise national and private-sector capacity to remove the huge volumes of accumulated waste from the site.
Government has begun preparations for a large-scale operation to evacuate the waste from Jamestown and transport it to the Adipa Waste Management Centre, an engineered landfill facility at Nsawam in the Eastern Region.
The exercise is expected to involve the Ministries of Local Government, Roads and Highways, Defence and Finance, with government undertaking a technical assessment to determine the volume of waste, the number of trucks and trips required, fuel needs and the logistics necessary to complete the operation.
The Roads and Highways Ministry is expected to support the operation with equipment and logistics, while government is also engaging construction companies and other private-sector organisations to provide trucks and heavy-duty machinery for the evacuation.
Mr Ayariga said his appeal for support would extend beyond construction companies, stressing that any organisation willing to contribute to the national sanitation effort would be welcomed.
“So for us, we want the waste evacuated. Whoever comes and evacuates, we’ll give you a heap of waste to evacuate for us. So we will involve even non-construction firms, so that they may even subcontract their contractors to evacuate for them,” he said.
The Minister pledged to also intensify efforts to encourage companies, including those in the mining and other major industries, to support waste evacuation and sanitation initiatives as part of their corporate social responsibility.
The government’s planned intervention follows a broader assessment of Ghana’s waste management infrastructure, during which Mr Ayariga inspected facilities including the Jamestown and Achimota Waste Transfer Stations, the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant and the Kpone landfill site.
The Minister has argued that Ghana’s sanitation challenges require more than the evacuation of accumulated waste, calling for reforms across the entire waste management chain, including improved waste separation at source, better transportation systems and stronger treatment and disposal infrastructure.
Once the accumulated waste at Jamestown has been removed, the government also plans to secure the cleared area to prevent renewed dumping and the return of squatters, which officials say could recreate the sanitation challenges that have plagued the site.
The proposal to redirect MTN Ghana’s offer comes after the government declined the telecommunications company’s proposed GH¢20 million donation to support Ghanaians affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africa, saying adequate financial arrangements had already been made for their evacuation and reintegration.
Related Posts
