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AMA embarks on emergency waste evacuation exercises at SIP sites to address sanitation challenges

31.Jan.2025

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has commenced an emergency waste evacuation exercise to clear accumulated refuse at 15 Sanitation Improvement Package (SIP) sites across the metropolis.

The SIP sites include Pasico, City Engineers, Korle-Bu Bus Stop, Brother Lawson, Nylander, Ojoo Cemetery, Mamprobi No. 10, Chorkor No. 7, Attoh Quarshie, Chemu Naa, Chorkor No. 5, Mamprobi No. 13, Agbogbloshie Market, Accra Brewery, and Kaneshie Market.

The intervention, aimed at addressing sanitation concerns, also sought to, among other things, ensure that Zoomlion Ghana Limited regularly empties waste containers to prevent future overflow.

Leading a working visit to assess the situation, the Coordinating Director of the AMA, Mr Douglas Annoful, emphasised the urgency of the exercise, assuring the essential services and administrative functions remain uninterrupted.

Speaking to journalists after the visit, the Deputy Head of Waste Management at the AMA, Mr Victor Kotey, acknowledged public concerns over sanitation, particularly in areas where refuse containers were full and overflowing, and attributed the situation to recent lapses in service delivery under the SIP program.

Mr Kotey assured that while all sites might not be cleared in a single night due to the volume of waste and the distance to the disposal site, the AMA aimed to clear over 50 percent of the affected areas by the following morning and complete the operation within two nights.

He explained that since December 31, 2024, the AMA had taken over waste collection responsibilities following the expiration of Zoomlion’s contract and the subsequent withdrawal of equipment previously used under the program.

Mr. Kotey explained that waste collection in key commercial zones, including the Central Business District, Kaneshie, and Circle, was a daily activity, typically conducted at dawn and late at night to minimise disruptions, stressing that logistical challenges had slowed operations, as the AMA was relying on machinery under the Disaster Risk Improvement Program (DRIP), which was not specifically designed for waste collection.

To address long-term sanitation issues, he disclosed that the Assembly planned to engage traders operating on pavements and streets to encourage proper waste storage. He added that traders would be supplied with trash bags to reduce indiscriminate dumping, significantly contributing to waste build-up.

On maintaining citywide cleanliness, he indicated that regular street sweepers had been deployed, with additional personnel assigned to ceremonial streets such as the Atta Mills Highway, Dr. Busia Highway, Bank Road around Octagon, and the Korle-Bu Post Office stretch.

He urged residents and traders to adopt responsible waste disposal practices, emphasising that indiscriminate dumping increased collection costs and diverted resources from other essential social services. He called for public cooperation to sustain a clean and healthy city.