Netherlands to assist Ghana fight "dumping" from Europe

Accra, April 1, GNA - Netherlands government says a recent study it carried has confirmed that a greater chunk of electronic products shipped from Europe to Africa are wastes.

Making this known in Accra, Mr Gerald J.Y Wolters the Dutch Inspector General for International Enforcement Cooperation said: "We have seen in Europe that a lot of goods being exported into Ghana and in Africa are second hand goods which are wastes.

"Waste is a problem and we in Netherlands don't want to export waste into your country," he told Ghana's Minister of Science Environment and Technology, Ms Sherry Ayittey, on Wednesday during a courtesy call on her.

Mr Wolters, who was accompanied by a team of officials from the Netherlands Ministry of Environment, said the visit was to establish a mutual cooperation between the Dutch and Ghana on how best both countries could work to reduce the menace of electronic wastes. "We need to cooperate to check it and we want to know what is acceptable for Ghana so as to monitor the shipment of such products from Europe. "We need information about your legal requirements so to set up a mutually beneficial arrangement to tackle the issue first on a bilateral level and later expand it to cover other countries in Europe," The Dutch Inspector General said.

Ms Ayittey said the situation of e-waste dumping has become a major concern for Ghana and Africa noting that all kinds of products were being brought into the country in the name of charity from Non Governmental Organisations.

She said there was the need to strengthen the various security services at all entry points mentioning specifically the Custom Excise and Preventive Service, the Police, the Clearing Agents and Immigration officials who ought to be sensitized on the matter to effectively wage the war against dumping.

The Minister expressed happiness about Netherlands' interest in the fight against e-waste and dumping and said the government of Ghana was very committed to stemming the menace and therefore welcomed every positive move to tackle it.

Mr Jonathan Allotey, the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced that as part of the collaboration with Netherlands, the Agency would soon conduct an inventory of all e-waste in the country. 1 April 09