The Abuakwa North Legislator, J. B. Danquah, has told Citi News government has priority projects to undertake and the funding of waste management is not one of them.
�� Government collects taxes [but it has priority projects]; government has priorities. You might as well use the money to build hospitals or use it for education rather than to pay for you and I the rubbish that we are to pay for,� he said.
The Greater Accra Metropolis has been battling with waste management and sanitation for over a month following the refusal of waste management companies to collect the garbage being produced by residents.
According to them [waste management companies], there is unavailability of landfill sites to dump the rubbish and the failure of government to pay its debt has worsen the situation.
The situation further worsened after the Accra Compost and Recycling Plan shut down operations and retrenched about 100 of its workers.
They also accused government of owing them large sums of money to support their operations.
The Local Government Ministry has promised it is working with the various assemblies to resolve the situation.
In an interview on Eyewitness News on Friday, Mr. Danquah advised government to cease paying for the collection of garbage from the homes and communities of Ghanaians.
The Abuakwa North legislator said: �I don�t see why you and I we make rubbish and we expect the government to pay for it.�
This system, according to him, burdens the government and breeds corruption, adding that just as individuals pay for their septic tanks to be emptied, the practice should be replicated in rubbish collection.
He remarked that it makes no sense to charge the Finance Minister �to go and find money to go and pay for you and I the rubbish we make�.
He acknowledged that since individuals and organizations pay waste management companies who collect their garbage on a regular basis, the country should not be facing this crisis.
He thus called for a total overhaul of the system to create accountability and efficiency.
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