President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate reopening of six waste transfer stations in Accra that have remained inactive for about nine years, as part of measures to address the city’s worsening sanitation challenges.

The President said the move will provide designated points for waste service providers to dispose of refuse, reducing pressure on existing disposal sites and improving waste collection efficiency.

Speaking at Alajo after inspecting the second day of the National Clean-up Exercise, President Mahama said the reopening of the facilities will prevent waste operators from travelling long distances to the landfill site at Amasaman.

He explained that smaller waste trucks, including those operated by tricycle waste collectors, will now be able to deposit refuse at the transfer stations, from where larger trucks will transport the waste to final disposal sites.

“We’ve had six transfer stations that were built more than nine years ago. Unfortunately, they were not put into operation. So we’ve asked the contractor to open the transfer stations so that the waste operators can take the garbage there,” President Mahama said.

The President added that the arrangement will ease the challenges faced by waste collectors who have in recent weeks complained about the lack of designated dumping sites, resulting in refuse accumulating in several parts of the capital.

He urged waste operators participating in the clean-up exercise to use the nearest transfer station instead of travelling all the way to Amasaman.

President Mahama also thanked residents, sanitation workers and local authorities for participating in the national clean-up exercise, stressing that restoring Accra’s sanitation situation requires collective effort.

“Ghana is a resilient country, Accra is a resilient city, and we will bounce back better than before,” he said.