The Deputy Ranking Member of Parliament’s Sanitation Committee, Mr Ralph Poku-Adusei, has blamed the government for Ghana’s deteriorating sanitation conditions, arguing that inadequate funding and poor resource allocation have undermined effective waste management across the country.
Speaking on Eyewitness News on Tuesday, July 7, the Bekwai Member of Parliament said findings from the committee’s inspections of sanitation facilities painted a worrying picture of the state of environmental management.
“I must admit that over the past year and a half that we’ve been in Parliament, the report, our observations, our visit to several sites when it comes to sanitation and other related sanitation matters is not the best. It’s appalling,” he said.
Mr Poku-Adusei maintained that the responsibility for sanitation rests squarely with the government under Ghana’s Environmental Sanitation Policy and should not be shifted onto private waste management companies.
According to him, the government has failed to provide the logistics, infrastructure and personnel required to effectively collect and manage waste.
“The government is failing on that responsibility. That is why we are where we are today,” he stated.
The lawmaker also criticised the government’s treatment of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), saying delayed payments and inadequate financial support had weakened the operational capacity of private waste management firms.
He described the sanitation situation in Accra as particularly alarming, noting that the capital generates more than 4,000 tonnes of waste each day, making effective waste disposal a matter of national importance.
Mr Poku-Adusei further accused the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Ocloo, of failing to take decisive action to address the growing sanitation challenges confronting the capital.
“The Greater Accra Regional Minister, simply put, because we have a crisis situation, is sleeping on her job,” he alleged.
He warned that poor sanitation posed serious public health and environmental risks and called on the government to urgently bridge funding and infrastructure gaps to improve waste management across the country.
The Bekwai MP urged authorities to prioritise sanitation as a critical national issue, stressing that sustained investment and effective policy implementation were essential to preventing further deterioration in environmental conditions.
