EU urged to regulate inflow of e-waste into the country

Accra, March 27, GNA - Mrs Sherry Ayittey, Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, on Friday urged the European Union (EU) to regulate the flow of e-waste into the country.

"Ghana has become a dumping ground for electronic waste and it is about time the EU puts in place regulations that would minimize the inflow of e-waste into the country since large volumes could lead to environmental hazards," she said. Mrs Ayittey made the call when a three-member EU delegation paid a courtesy call on her at the office. The delegation, which was led by Mrs Lid Remmelzwaal, Ambassador of Netherlands to Ghana, included Mr Jannik Vaa Head of Infrastructure and Sustainable Development Section at EU and Dr Tony van der Zon, First Secretary of Environment and Water Advisor at Netherlands Embassy. The Minister said the Ministerial Advisory Council and the National Action Plan for Sustainable Development would work towards reducing all forms of pollution and depletion of the country's natural resources as well as mitigating the effects of climate change. "Ghana used to have a full forest cover but poor management of natural resources led to the loss of six per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which could have been used to tackle poverty eradication in the country."

Mrs Ayittey said government had plans to reduce the dependency on rain fed agriculture by putting in place irrigation schemes for farmers. She gave the assurance that government would work towards protecting the interest of the fishing community, civil society and other stakeholders when investors went into the petroleum industry. Mrs Ayittey appealed to the EU and other development partners to support the ministry in mitigating the effects of climate change and minimizing environmental pollution. Mrs Remmelzwaal urged government to involve civil society in pursuit of its development agenda and promote transparency and accountability in the distribution of natural resources. She said climate change had become a global challenge, which must be addressed and advised that more resources are channelled into the preservation of the environment. 27 March 09