MPs push for IRECORP as Ghana’s sanitation crisis deepens

Members of Parliament have urged government to, as a matter of national importance, sign an offtake agreement with waste management expert, Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the construction of its ultra-modern Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECORP) across the country.

The lawmakers argue that the implementation of IRECORP in all the 16 regions would help recover waste materials that would serve as resource for industries and by extension help address the unemployment situation in the country.

There is a growing need to establish local recycling plants across the country, as experts claim that Ghana’s sanitation crisis is deepening

The MPs made the call at a press briefing by the Joint Select Committees of Parliament, comprising Local Government & Rural Development, Works & Housing and Environment, Science and Technology in Accra on Thursday.

Zoomlion’s recycling and compost plant which was first commissioned in April this year has the capacity to process at least 200 metric tonnes of waste daily and nearly 100 metric tonnes of compost per day.

After the fire outbreak at the Kpone landfill in Tema, which occurred on August 15, 2019, the MPs embarked upon a field visit to some major landfill sites in four regions, including the Northern Region, Ashanti Region, Western Region and Greater Accra to see at firsthand how these landfills are managed.

The trip was aimed at ascertaining how best the country could address its sanitation challenges, especially the kind of support government could offer to captains of industry in the private sector. It was commenced on September 10 – 13, 2019.

Nii Lantey Vanderpuye, MP for Odododiodio and member of the Joint Committee, said the use of landfills as means of waste management is obsolete and have outlived its usefulness.

According to him, successive governments have failed over the years to ensure that landfills in the country are properly manage, hence the need to establish recycling plants to enhance the sanitation situation in the country.

He disclosed that members of the committee were utterly shocked about the awful conditions at the landfill in the Ashanti Region as it leaches toxic chemicals into the ground and water bodies in the community.

“Frankly, as MPs we felt indicted about the spectacle. It was so shameful and the situation was even worst in the Western Region. It must be treated as a national emergency and I think with the establishment of the recycling plants the sector will drastically improve,’’ the former deputy minister for Local Government and Rural Development added.

On his part, the Member of Parliament for Ahafo Ano North, Suleman Adamu Sanid, proposed that new regulations be developed to allow for the allocation of the District Assemblies’ Common Fund to mitigate the impact of poor sanitation in the country.

He said if such regulations are swiftly implemented, irrespective of which government is in power, the sector would receive adequate funding to address the country’s sanitation challenges.

The MPs said it was not fair for some government agencies to benefit from the DACF whiles sanitation, which is a critical sector of the economy, be denied such financial support.

“Should it become a matter of practice, no matter which government is in power, every other year, we expect that our sanitation challenges would be given the needed attention,” Mr Adamu Sanid added.

Taking his turn at the conference, MP for Banda, Ahmed Ibrahim, made a passionate appeal to the presidency to ensure that all 16 regions benefit from Zoomlion’s Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECORP).

He said despite the enormous challenges and criticisms, managers of Zoomlion have shown ‘”unrelenting commitment’’ in addressing the country’s sanitation challenges.

"The Jospong Group is a Ghanaian company and it is important that we all support it to create jobs for the unemployed youth in the country.

"All over the world, sanitation companies charge between $30 – $35 per metric tonne for waste collection, but in Ghana Zoomlion takes only GHC30. We should just check the difference and it would tell us that the company is really committed to helping this country,’’ the MP asserted.

Ahmed Ibrahim reiterated the point that until government sign an offtake agreement with Zoomlion, the citizens would continue to wallow in the sanitation mess.

Present at the media interaction were Emmanuel Kwasi Bedzrah, MP for Ho West, Abubakar Boniface Siddique, MP for Madina, Nana Amoakoh, MP for Atiwa West Constituency and a host of others.