Vice President Kwesi Amissah-Arthur has challenged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to be innovative and find solutions to the waste problems in their districts.
He said the government was ready to assist them if they were able to come out with a creative system to tackle their waste problems in their areas and ensure clean environment.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur made the statement when he inspected a newly-installed mini Waste Transfer Station at Kokomlemle in Accra.
The new facility, capable of handling 46 tonnes of rubbish a day, is a joint venture between Waste Land Fills Company and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA).
In August last year, Vice President Amissah-Arthur led a clean-up exercise at some 18 dumpsites within Accra, as part of efforts to sanitize the city which has been engulfed with filth.
The move was to help reduce the impact of the cholera outbreak in parts of Accra and the deteriorating waste management and sanitation situation in the capital which, at the time, was identified as the cause.
Some of the areas where the team of government officials had to supervise the collection of rubbish included the Agbogbloshie market, Kokomlemle and Abossey Okai.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur who expressed his delight to see the new mini waste transfer station, said the situation now was different from last year.
He said “the new facility is cleaner and more environmentally friendly” and hoped that it would contribute to better the health of the community.
He recalled that last year, they had to come to the Kokomlemle dumpsite to clear the heaps of rubbish there, because at time, Accra had been affected by cholera outbreak and thought they had to do something to clear the filth in the system.
Vice President Amissah-Arthur also commended the AMA for the innovation to create a clean dumpsite, and urged it to replicate the system all over Accra.
He called on other cities to follow the example of the AMA and to establish their own waste transfer units in their area.
He said that the new facility was a joint venture which the AMA used the land as its equity, while the private company invested its resources to put up the facility.
Mr Alfred Oko Vanderpujie, Chief Executive of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, as a result of the facility, people who carried rubbish on tricycles to the place had become more organized, monitoring themselves and keeping the environment clean.
He commended the Vice President for his interest and support for the project over the period, until its completion.
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