— Rotting Garbage, Disease Fears, And A Failed Sanitation System”
By Philip Antoh
Mountains of uncollected garbage are taking over one of Accra’s busiest markets, as a crippling shortage of landfill sites pushes Ghana’s waste management system to the brink of collapse.
Traders and residents at the Kaneshie Market complex are living in DESPERATION, with overflowing refuse containers creating a PUBLIC HEALTH NIGHTMARE that is destroying businesses and endangering lives.
The Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has now sounded the alarm, revealing that the ENTIRE Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) has ZERO operational landfill sites a staggering failure of infrastructure that has brought waste collection to a grinding halt.
ESPA Executive Secretary Ama Ofori Antwi delivered the shocking revelation that has left many questioning the government’s commitment to basic sanitation.
“If we take the whole of GAMA, there are NO landfill sites within the area for dumping waste,” Ofori Antwi declared.
The admission exposes a SYSTEM IN CRISIS. Waste management companies are now forced to rely SOLELY on disposal sites in Adepa and Tema meaning contractors must travel up to 90 KILOMETRES every single trip.
The result? MASSIVE DELAYS in collection schedules and MOUNTAINS OF ROTTING REFUSE piling up in communities across Accra.
But the crisis does not end there.
The rainy season has transformed already crumbling roads into impassable mud baths, SLOWING heavy waste trucks to a crawl. What should be a simple collection route now takes DAYS to complete.
“The infrastructure for dumping waste is a challenge for both formal and informal operators,” Ofori Antwi explained.
The situation has become so dire that traders and residents at Kaneshie Market have raised DESPERATE ALARMS, warning that the accumulating waste poses SEVERE HEALTH RISKS and is DRIVING CUSTOMERS AWAY.
Shop owners and traders are now living in FEAR.
· Local businesses are COLLAPSING as the unbearable stench and swarms of flies drive customers away
· Disease outbreaks are IMMINENT as rats and insects thrive in the unsanitary conditions
· The safety of women and children is at risk in the filthy environment
One trader, who spoke to The New Republic on condition of anonymity, said: “We are sitting on a TIME BOMB. The government is KILLING our businesses and threatening our lives. When will they act?”
The Environmental Service Providers Association is now DEMANDING immediate government intervention.
The association is calling for:
· URGENT investment in NEW engineered landfill sites within Greater Accra
· STREAMLINED operations to curb the growing refuse problem
· A COMPREHENSIVE waste management strategy to match rapid urbanization and population growth
“Rapid urbanization and population growth have outpaced the region’s waste disposal infrastructure,” Ofori Antwi stressed.
· Why has the government FAILED to provide adequate landfill sites for Ghana’s largest city?
· How long will residents and traders be forced to LIVE IN FILTH?
· When will the authorities treat this PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS with the urgency it deserves?
· Who will be held ACCOUNTABLE for this systemic failure?
The New Republic has learned that the situation is expected to WORSEN before it improves unless immediate action is taken. Authorities have yet to respond to the crisis, leaving residents and traders at the MERCY of an ever-growing mountain of garbage.