Joseph Kofi Adda
Water Resources and Sanitation Minister, Joseph Kofi Adda, has pointed out that the site acquired by the government at Oyibi near Accra, is to be used to process waste and not a landfill, as feared by some residents.
According to Mr Adda, the site is one of three the government acquired in 2013 from the chiefs and people of Otinibi to be used for processing waste in Accra into value-added by-products.
The project, when completed, would process about 20,000 tonnes of garbage generated by residents in the nation’s capital.
The minister’s comments came days after angry residents of the area registered their displeasure with the government over the decision.
He told host of Joy FM’s ‘Super Morning Show’ programme Friday, “Government is very sensitive to the health of the people and therefore, will not be engaged in anything that will adversely affect their lives.”
Mr Kofi Adda, Navrongo Central parliamentarian, said the plant would take the waste into conveyor belts to be sorted before it is converted into value-added byproducts such as fertilizer, while the residues would be used to power incinerators at the plant.
“This is not going to be landfill site; …it’s a processing plant,” he assured.
Mr Adda said a report on an impact assessment exercise conducted by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA), does not indicate that the plant will have an adverse effect on residential facilities.
When it becomes operational, the plant will generate over 300 direct and hundreds of indirect jobs for people in its catchment area.