Ghanaian Chronicle (Accra)

Ghana: Severe Environmental Pollution in Accra

A tour around the Korle Lagoon, specifically an area called 'Lavender Hill' revealed that most of the city's liquid waste is discharged into the sea in that area, and poses a severe environmental and health threat to inhabitants of the area.

When The File got to the area, the cesspit tank had been opened and raw liquid waste was being poured on the ground to find its way into the sea, after which sand is dug to seal the channel created by the waste.

Checks with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) revealed that finding a permanent site for both solid and liquid waste has been major setback of the assembly, for a very long time.

The AMA acknowledged that the stench emanating from the activities at 'Lavender Hill', named so due to the unbearable stench emanating from the place, which is unbearable for residents, and that effort would be made to correct the anomaly.

Meanwhile, information picked by the Accra File reveals that some individuals in the capital city have diverted their liquid waste into main drains/gutters in the capital, causing serious stench in those areas.

Mataeko, Sukra, Russia and Laterbiokorshie are a few of such areas where this practice is taking place.

Disposal of solid and liquid problem is a major challenge confronting the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, which some city dwellers taking advantage of to dispose of their waste indiscriminately.

Some residents the paper spoke to revealed that the stench emanating from such gutters are unbearable

They said the problem was more worrisome when one has to organise outdoor functions, which people from different areas would be attending.

A shop owner at Mataheko, whose shop is adjacent a gutter, told the paper that efforts to get the landlord to correct the anomaly had proved futile.

He said the health inspectors from the Ablekuma Central Sub Metro pass by very frequently, but do not seem to care.


Copyright © 2009 Ghanaian Chronicle. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 130 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.

Comments 1 to 1 of 1 Post a comment

  • Steve Klaber
    Jul 25 2009, 10:15

    An article today on AE-africa.com called "waste to energy bangs on Lagos' door' proposes the basis of the solution. We used to run whole cities on sewer gas. Solid waste or liquid, most of it is fuel.