Joint committee of parliament satisfies with management of Tamale landfill site, calls for further improvement
The joint parliamentary select committee on works and housing, environment, local government and finance has expressed satisfaction on the management of the Tamale landfill site.
The committee after inspecting the site to accesses the lapses they identified during their last visit applauded both Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Tamale metropolitan Assembly (TMA) for adhering to their recommendations they made during their last visit.
’’We are now in Tamale and I can tell you that what we’ve seen here is much better managing of the landfill site, this is not what we want as a country but with the coming of Integrated Recycling Compost Plant project, there will be total change in dealing with waste,’’ Mr Akwasi Gyamfi asserted.
According to him, committee members were not happy about the solid waste treatment plant at Takoradi management
The 42-member committee, as part of their nationwide working visit in the 3 regions of the North also inspected progress of work of iRICOP project- recycling and composite plants projects at Gbalahi in the Sagnarigu municipality.
The Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) secured £35 million funding from Hungarian government for the establishment of the plants in the Northern Region which would convert all waste into reusables.
The recycling plant’s total cost is estimated at £20 million and is said to be ready within four months whilst the liquid waste treatment plant would cost £15 million and will be completed in 15 months.
The super structure is expected to be ready by July-August 2021 for installation of equipment for work to begin.
The committee are touring the country to assess the state of sanitation situation in the country’s landfill sites and how the waste is being managed at those landfill sites.
The chairman commended Zoomlion for taking up what he described as a big challenge confronting the country which the government should have gone for money to implement this laudable project and urged Ghanaians to support the company’s efforts in resolving sanitation issues.
The committee paid a courtesy call on the Chief Director at the Northern Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku to brief him their mission in the region before proceeding to Tamale landfill site at Gbalahi in the Sagnarigu municipality.
The MPs took turns to ask officials of waste management unit of the Tamale metropolitan assembly and Zoomlion how they are dealing with both solid and liquid waste in the region.
Deputy Ranking Member of the select committee on Environment and MP for Kumbungu, Dr Hamza Adam expressed worried over abandoned heaps of waste in some parts within Tamale and Sagnarigu municipality and called on Zoomlion and the 2 assemblies to find ways of evacuating the waste.
The Kumbungu MP appealed to Zoomlion to provide adequate waste containers for residents to dump their waste. Dr Hamza also appealed to residents, especially those living along major gutters to stop throwing refuse into the gutters to desist from it because it could lead to outbreak of sanitation-related diseases.
Member of parliament for Nanton, Alhaji Hardi Mohammed Tuferu emphasized the need for stakeholders’ collaboration in dealing with waste in the country. He is hopeful that with the coming into stream of iRICOP, composite plants sanitation can be addressed.
Chief Director of the Northern Region, Alhaji Issahaku Alhassan who received the committee expressed confidence in them and assured that the coordinating council will continue to play its supervisory role towards addressing sanitation challenges.
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