Residents and community leaders in Adipa in the Nsawam Adoagyiri Constituency have given the government a seven-day ultimatum to halt the transfer of waste from Agbogbloshie and other parts of Accra to the Adipa Landfill Site, warning that failure to do so could trigger further action from the community.

The residents say the continued transportation and disposal of large quantities of waste at the landfill is placing an increasing burden on the community and negatively affecting their living conditions.

The development follows the government’s commencement of a major 90-day operation to evacuate about one million tonnes of accumulated waste from Agbogbloshie and Jamestown in Accra.

Assembly Member for the Asiyaw/Adipa Electoral Area, Emmanuel Asamoah, says the increasing volume of waste being brought to the area is causing “unbearable hardship” for residents and contributing to environmental pollution, particularly affecting water and air quality.

Speaking on behalf of the community on September 28, Mr Asamoah outlined a number of demands, including an immediate suspension of waste dumping activities, an independent assessment of the environmental and health impact of the site, and a comprehensive clean-up of affected areas.

He also called for “an independent environmental and health impact assessment of the dumping site currently in use.”

Mr Asamoah further demanded a comprehensive clean-up and decontamination of areas affected by the dumping, with the cost to be borne by the responsible authorities.

“A comprehensive cleanup and decontamination of the affected areas, which is going to be funded and executed by responsible authorities, including the local government, including the municipal assembly in which we are in now, which is the Nsawam Adoagyiri municipality,” he said.

The Assembly Member also called for measures to prevent further dumping at the site, including the installation of permanent barriers and security arrangements.

He further demanded a public forum within seven days at which municipal authorities would be expected to present a long-term plan for managing waste in the area.

“A formal public forum within the next seven days, where municipal leaders must present a transparent long-term waste management strategy that respects the residential zones of our community members,” Mr Asamoah said.

Seven-day ultimatum

Mr Asamoah said the community had given the government and other responsible authorities a maximum of seven days to respond to their demands.

“On this note, we give an ultimatum of maximum seven days to responsible authorities, including the government, to come to our aid,” he said.

He warned that the community would resort to blocking access roads to the dumping site if no response was received within the stipulated period.

“Otherwise, what we will be doing, they may not like. We have no other option than to adopt other means, which is that we are going to block the road access, which leads the track to the dumping site,” he said.

Mr Asamoah said the deadline would begin from the day of the announcement and that the residents would take action if the government, the relevant authorities, and the company operating the site failed to respond.

“If within the seven days, which starts from today, exactly one week from today, if we don't receive any response from the government, the responsible authorities, or the operating company, we are going to block all roads leading to the dumping site,” he warned.

Meanwhile, Nsawam-Adoagyiri MP and Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh questioned the decision to transport large quantities of waste from Greater Accra to the Adipa landfill site, saying key stakeholders in the constituency were not adequately engaged before the operation began.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh said the government needed to explain why Adipa was selected when there were other landfill sites in Greater Accra and surrounding areas.

“There are many landfill sites in Greater Accra and its environs. So the fundamental question is, what went into the decision to move the waste from Greater Accra to Eastern Region, no other area than Adipa?” he asked.

“We need to find answers to this question. What informed that decision? Government needs to speak to us.”

The MP also questioned why the Minister for Local Government, Mahama Ayariga, had not been in the community to engage residents and other stakeholders before the waste transfer operation began.

Mr Annoh-Dompreh also linked the controversy to Ghana’s commitments under international sustainable development frameworks, arguing that the handling and transportation of waste should conform to established principles of sustainable waste management.

He referred to the Millennium Development Goals, particularly Goal 7, which he said addressed environmental sustainability and waste management.

He further pointed to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), saying the principles contained in the global framework also address how waste should be transported and handled.

“Goal 7 has been transformed into the SDGs, Sustainable Development Goals. Goal 11 speaks about how waste should be transported. It speaks about how waste should be handled,” Mr Annoh-Dompreh said.

He noted that Ghana is a signatory to the SDGs and argued that the current waste transfer arrangement should therefore be examined against the country’s commitments.

The Minority Chief Whip stressed that his position should not be interpreted as opposition to the government's waste-clearing exercise but rather as a demand for the rights and concerns of residents to be respected.

“We are not fighting government,” he said. “As a member of the minority and as a representative of the people in parliament, we cannot fight government. We don't have the arms and the strength to fight government.”

However, he said the government had a responsibility to protect residents’ rights, particularly their right to live in a clean environment.