ESPA warns of nationwide sanitation crisis, demands immediate payment of arrears from Mahama gov’t

The Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has warned of an imminent collapse of Ghana’s waste management system, calling for urgent government intervention to prevent a national sanitation and public health emergency.

Addressing a news conference in Accra on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, the Executive Secretary of ESPA, Madam Ama Ofori Antwi, cautioned that service providers were on the verge of shutting down due to mounting financial pressures.

She explained that many waste contractors who had borrowed from banks, suppliers, and other partners to sustain operations now face severe financial constraints, with creditors threatening legal action.

“If immediate government attention and intervention are not provided, these compounded challenges could cripple Ghana’s waste management system in a few days, reversing years of progress made in keeping our cities clean and protecting public health and the environment,” Madam Ama Ofori Antwi, ESPA Executive Secretary, noted.

She disclosed that ESPA had engaged with the Ministry of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, and relevant parliamentary committees to facilitate the release of payments to its members, but the efforts had yielded little progress.

Madam Ofori Antwi, therefore, implored the government to, as a matter of urgency, pay all arrears owed ESPA members by November 7, 2025, to avert a total shutdown of waste management operations.

She further called on the government to channel funds from the Sanitation and Pollution Levy into a dedicated financing mechanism to sustain waste management infrastructure.

“There has been an absence of a dedicated budgetary allocation for waste management over the years. The sector’s financial sustainability, therefore, remains at risk, with the possibility of service disruptions if urgent attention is not given,” Madam Ofori Antwi noted.

In addition, ESPA urged Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to review current fixed cost recovery rates paid to waste collectors, transporters, and transfer station operators, describing the existing rates as economically unsustainable.

“A fair and realistic adjustment is essential to ensure business viability and the continued provision of effective sanitation services across the country,” she stressed.

While reaffirming ESPA’s commitment to support President John Dramani Mahama’s re-launch of the National Sanitation Day initiative, Madam Ofori Antwi urged the government to act swiftly to stabilise the sector.

ESPA, a coalition of private waste management companies across Ghana, works in partnership with government and local authorities to promote efficient, sustainable, and inclusive environmental services nationwide.

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