Action should be taken in landfill construction

THE delay over construction of the Kwabenya Landfill must be resolved.

WHILE the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government has expressed its concern regarding the delay, this is not enough. The confusion seems to stem primarily from issues of compensation.

IT has rightly been the practice of government to compensate residents of landfill sites for having to be relocated. Mr. Daniel Aidoo, the Kwabenya Landfill Project Coordinator, said that the 700 stone crackers and 89 individuals and families who will be affected by the landfill have agreed to accept compensation.

ALTHOUGH there has been controversy over the site since it was selected in 1991, the Committee has been trying to address the concerns expressed by residents and artisans who employ the site.

AS a result of local pressure and concerns about the impact of a landfill on daily life and quality of living, the originally projected landfill size of 465 acres was reduced to 364 acres.

BY 2006, the government was finally prepared to pay the residents their dues, but was bound by the World Bank’s request for a Resettlement Action Plan before any money exchanged hands.

THE Project, at an estimated cost of $12 million, will be funded as part of the Urban Environment and Sanitation Project II by the World Bank as well as the Government of Ghana.

AS of right now, though, the only thing happening on the site is private developers encroaching on the land and erecting structures.

IT is the responsibility of the government to not only resolve to act, but, in fact, act.

THE first concern is to fairly address the compensation to be given to local workers and residents. No matter how dire the need for a fresh landfill is, those who will be directly affected need to be justly dealt with. Not only does this mean giving adequate compensation, but it also signifies that any latent concerns held by residents need to be addressed now.

FROM there, just as the Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Local Government, Mr. Dominic Azumah, has stated, the project either needs to be carried out or abandoned.

AS the site is intended to serve the Greater Accra Region for 20-25 years, it is important that construction is started soon, whether at the site chosen in 1991 or at another one. In either case, the government must be prepared to address all of the residents’ issues immediately so that the debate does not continue to drag on.