ESPA Demands GH¢400 Million from 2016 Budget

The Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ms Ama Ofori-Antwi, has appealed to government to approve the GH¢400 million (four hundred million Ghana cedi) budget proposal the waste management association submitted as input in the 2016 budget, to help rid the nation of filth.

She made this known at a press conference organized by ESPA to deliberate on the content of the proposal submitted to the Ministries of Local Government and Rural Development and Environment for consideration.

According to her, the amount being proposed would help push activities of the waste management companies on sanitation. She called on government to make the handling of both liquid and solid waste in the country a priority by investing more in the sector.

That, she explained, would help to rid cities across the country off filth and consequently reduce the outbreak of epidemics such as cholera which are fuelled by poor environmental sanitation practices.

In an interview with the New Crusading GUIDE, Ms Ofori-Antwi said when the June 3 twin disaster occurred at the Kwame NKrumah circle, government managed to find a sum of GH¢50 million cedis to desilt the Odor River once. However, the GH¢400 million is meant to undertake some major projects like expanding and establishing new and existing land filth site across the country, describing the current outbreak of cholera in parts of Accra as unfortunate, stating that it was the price the country was paying for neglecting the environment.

She said the government should spend more resources on building infrastructure, as well as providing waste contractors with the needed logistical support in order to help deal with the outbreak of diseases.

There are no landfill sites in Accra and the national capital does not have enough sites for the dumping of liquid waste either. Refuse and cesspit emptiers use the Kpone landfill site near Tema and the ‘Lavender Hill’ at Korle Gonno to dispose of refuse and faeces respectively.

Ms Ofori-Antwi explained that while the emptiers dumped the faecal matter directly into the sea, the 90-km return journey from Accra to Tema was a huge disincentive in the collection and haulage of refuse in the city.

According to statistics from the Waste Management Department of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Accra generates about 2,800 tonnes of refuse daily.

Environmental Service Providers Association was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee in 2001, to service as an advocacy body for environmental service providers in Ghana. ESPA is an Association of Waste Management Companies providing both solid and liquid waste management services within the Metropolitan/Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs).

As partners in development, the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has several years, maintained an active collaboration with stakeholders in the delivery and provision of solid and liquid waste management services to the citizenry in line with government policy of maintaining a clean and a healthy environment for all.

ESPA’s membership has now expanded to include Liquid Waste Management Sector; Solid Waste Management Sector; Industrial Waste Management Sector; Waste Oil Treatment Sector; Recycling Companies; Scrap dealers; Janitorial pest control service providers; Landfill Management Sector; Waste Energy Sector; Mini Carts and Truck Pushers.