The Executive Secretary of the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Ama Ofori Antwi, has called on the government to allocate a dedicated budget to support the upcoming two-day national clean-up exercise, warning that the campaign could fall short without adequate funding.
Speaking in an interview on Adom TV’s Badwam, Madam Ofori Antwi stressed that waste management companies would require financial support to effectively evacuate the large volumes of refuse expected to be collected during the exercise.
“We have to believe there is a budget for this clean-up exercise because waste evacuation is not done for free,” she said.
According to her, transporting waste from collection points to disposal sites involves significant operational costs, including fuel, logistics and manpower.
“The trucks need fuel; there are drivers, janitors and other workers who all have to be paid before the waste is transported to the final disposal site,” she explained.
Madam Ofori Antwi noted that much of the waste evacuation would have to be carried out at night to minimise traffic disruptions, making it even more important for government to provide the necessary logistical and financial support.
“We have to work through the night to evacuate the waste, and that means collaborating with landfill operators who also need resources to operate after hours,” she added.
She urged authorities to ensure waste management companies are adequately resourced so the exercise achieves its intended impact and leaves communities cleaner rather than creating new sanitation challenges.
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