Minister calls for private sector investment in waste management

Accra, Jan. 23, GNA- Prof. Kasim Kasanga Minister of Environment and Science on Friday called on the private sector to invest in waste management to assist in efforts to clean up the environment.

Speaking at the 30th anniversary of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Accra, Prof Kasanga said waste management had become a difficult venture due to urbanisation, increase in consumption of goods and services and poor packaging.

"It was high time we developed mechanisms and systems to handle these issues more effectively and efficiently."

Prof Kasanga tasked the EPA to offer technical support to the district assemblies to tackle sanitation and waste management problems. He said rational exploitation of the country's resources was the key to a balanced national development and economic growth.

"We need to adopt, at the community and district levels, policies and actions that will ensure environmentally sustainable development," Prof Kasanga said.

He recommended the integration of poverty reduction and environmental enhancement programmes into all development projects in the country.

Mr Jonathan A. Allotey, Executive Director of the EPA expressed concern about the number of environmental related cases that were pending before the law courts as a result of frequent adjournments, and called for action on them.