President John Dramani Mahama has directed the continuation of post-flood cleanup operations across Accra, announcing that the Ghana Armed Forces and other state agencies will remain on the ground until all waste removed from choked drains is cleared.
The President gave the directive while joining residents of Alajo on the second day of the national cleanup exercise, where he stressed that removing refuse from drains alone is not enough unless it is promptly transported to designated disposal sites.
“In the past, we cleaned the gutters but failed to collect the garbage left by the roadside. When it rained again, all the waste was washed back into the drains,” President Mahama observed.
He explained that the day’s exercise was focused on loading the refuse already dredged from drains into heavy-duty trucks for transportation to landfill sites, adding that the volume of waste generated across the city makes it impossible to complete the exercise in a single day.
According to him, the military and collaborating agencies will continue the operation beyond the official cleanup exercise until every heap of waste removed from the drains has been evacuated.
To strengthen the city’s waste management system, President Mahama also announced the activation of six waste transfer stations that were constructed more than nine years ago but never put into operation.
He said the government has directed the contractor, Zoomlion, to make the facilities operational to improve refuse collection and reduce the burden on waste transport operators.
Under the new arrangement, tricycle operators and other waste collectors will be able to dispose of refuse at the nearest transfer station instead of travelling long distances to landfill sites at Amasaman or Kpone (Aryeetey/Arakor landfill). Waste deposited at the transfer stations will then be loaded onto larger trucks for onward transportation to the final disposal sites.
President Mahama said the measure is expected to improve the efficiency of waste collection, reduce turnaround time for refuse transport, and help keep drains and communities cleaner.
The President urged all waste collectors participating in the cleanup exercise to take advantage of the transfer stations, describing the initiative as a practical step towards building a more effective and sustainable sanitation system for the capital.
