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03.01.2005 General News

KMA To Levy All Households -¢10,000 /month

03.01.2005 LISTEN
By Graphic

The Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly(KMA)has initiated moves to levy every household in the metropolis as part of its programme to address the financial problems confronting it in the collection and disposal of solid and liquid waste.

Under the new arrangement, every household in the metropolis is expected to pay a minimum monthly fee of ¢10,000 towards the collection and disposal of refuse. Households in the metropolis that would however benefit directly from a house-to-house refuse collection that has been introduced by the KMA would be made to pay a monthly fee ranging between ¢20,000 and ¢30,000.

While households in first class residential areas that benefit from this service would be made to pay a monthly fee of ¢30,000, those in second and third class residential areas would be made to contribute a monthly fee of ¢25,000 and ¢20,000 respectively.

The approval of the monthly refuse collection fee was taken during a special meeting by the KMA last Wednesday, and it would take effect from January,2005. These were contained in a release signed by the Public Relations Officer of the KMA, Mr Kwame Frimpong.

It expressed concern about the financial predicament of the KMA with regard to the collection and disposal of solid and liquid waste in the metropolis. It pointed out that an estimated amount of ¢1.5 billion was spent in the managing of refuse within the metropolis monthly, stressing that out of this amount, the assembly is able to recover only ¢400,000 leaving a deficit of ¢1.1 billion.

It said notwithstanding the huge amount of money spent on the collection and disposal of solid and liquid waste in the metropolis, the assembly is able to cover only about 70 per cent of the suburbs in the metropolis. It noted that plans were far advanced for the assembly to increase its refuse collection base to over 80 per cent next year, “ but the beneficiaries have to contribute their widow's mite towards the collection and disposal of refuse in Kumasi”.

It said currently, the chunk of the internally generated funds of the assembly went into waste management, leaving just a little for the development of the metropolis, stressing that the implementation of the new levy would greatly enhance sanitation in Kumasi and address the phenomenon of refuse that pile up in parts of the suburbs in the metropolis.

It urged residents in the metropolis to embrace the new refuse collection mechanism to ensure effective and efficient management of solid and liquid waste.

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