Ghana government to clear waste from Sodom and Gomorrah and James Town Beach

The Ghanaian government plans to remove decades of accumulated waste from two prominent Accra sites, Sodom and Gomorrah and James Town Beach, to make way for their planned development.

President John Dramani Mahama assigned Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga to lead the operation with the ministers of Finance, Defence, and Roads and Highways. The waste will be transported to the Adipa Waste Management Centre, a 200-acre landfill operated by the Jospong Group of Companies.

Ayariga inspected the landfill with Jospong Executive Chairman Joseph Siaw Agyepong and a senior military officer representing Chief of Defence Staff Lieutenant General Williams Agyapong. The team reviewed the site’s capacity and the logistical requirements for moving the waste.

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The four of us have put in place a plan to evacuate all that waste out of the locations.

Ayariga said the waste had built up for more than 30 years and continued to grow during his years living in Accra. “The four of us have put in place a plan to evacuate all that waste out of the locations,” he said. Agyepong told the team that Adipa could receive the waste if the government mobilized enough trucks and equipment.

The minister said Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson had plans for developing both areas, making the cleanup a priority. Officials still need to establish the amount of waste, the number of trucks, fuel needs and the expected duration of the work. The Roads and Highways Ministry has committed equipment, while the government plans public education efforts to stop the sites from becoming dumping grounds again.

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He assured us that if we are able to mobilise the trucks and the equipment that will take all that waste out, we could bring it to this location.