The Member of Parliament for Tano North in the Ahafo region, Dr. Gideon Boako, has described the country’s current sanitation state as deteriorating, calling for accountability and a clear policy direction to rescue Ghana from unbearable filth.

Speaking at a community clean-up exercise in Tanoso organised by the Youth Association of Tanoso on Friday, May 8, Dr. Boako expressed deep concern that despite the heavy taxes and levies paid by citizens on sanitation, the country’s waste management infrastructure is in a state of rapid deterioration.

He emphasised that residents pay significant sums to ensure environmental cleanliness, yet the nation remains choked with refuse due to a lack of strategic oversight.

The legislator attributed the current crisis to a leadership vacuum in the sanitation sector since the government opted not to renew the contract of Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

He noted that although the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs has decentralised the system to give power to various assemblies, there is a visible gap in execution, as no contractors have been officially earmarked for the responsibility of tidying streets and corridors.

Dr. Boako stated that sanitation at the local level is now left to the mercy of individuals, groups, and volunteer organisations, while the assemblies entrusted with state funds remain idle and ineffective.

He highlighted that major public spaces, including market centres, lorry parks, and streets, are being overtaken by heaps of refuse while local authorities appear clueless.

Dr. Boako urged the Tano North Municipal Assembly to urgently secure a new refuse dump site to cater to the municipality’s increasing waste, particularly in the Tanoso community.

He warned that the current site is filled to capacity, causing waste to spill into nearby streams and posing a direct threat to the health and safety of residents who rely on these water bodies.

The economic and environmental cost of this crisis is huge when considering the legal taxes and levies Ghanaians already pay.

Citizens contribute through the Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL), which adds 10 pesewas to every litre of petrol and diesel, alongside Plastic Excise Duties on manufacturers and importers.

Furthermore, a portion of District Assembly Property Rates, market tolls, and business operating permits are specifically earmarked for waste management, yet the visible results do not reflect this financial commitment.

Ghana generates approximately 6.57 million tonnes of municipal solid waste annually, yet there is no clear national policy currently on managing this volume of filth.

The environmental impact of poor sanitation is devastating, as inadequate waste management is linked to 31.9 million lost workdays and an estimated 177,222 deaths annually from preventable diseases like malaria, cholera, typhoid, and pneumonia.

Indiscriminate dumping also leads to the choking of primary drains, which causes frequent flash floods and the contamination of vital water bodies like the Tano River.

Dr. Boako is calling on the Ministry of Local Government to, as a matter of urgency, produce an effective national sanitation plan to ensure that taxpayers' money finally translates into a clean and livable environment.