The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, has reaffirmed his vision to tackling environmental degradation urging the need to demonopolize Ghana’s waste management system.
Hon. Murtala began by outlining the need for a national audit on environmental devastation and the restructuring of waste management system.
Hon. Murtala emphasized the urgent need for a comprehensive national audit on environmental degradation, revealing;
“I want to take it a step further. Once we are able to have something to work on, we will establish the full scale of the problem. 10% of our GDP is being lost as a result of these [environmental] activities. If the state decides to provide just 5% to curb this, we would have been saving the state 5% of the GDP being lost.”
Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
He stressed that the existing research only covers specific aspects of environmental destruction, mainly focused on water bodies and forests. However, a comprehensive, nationwide assessment is necessary to capture the full impact of degradation on various ecosystems.
He reaffirmed one of the key reforms he intended to pursue which is the demonopolization of waste management in Ghana. He argued;
“We need to demonopolize waste management in this country. Are you comfortable with the way waste is managed in this country? I don’t think you are. If you were, we wouldn’t all be complaining that the bigger cities are crying nowadays—our cities are very dirty.”
“We need to engage the local governance structures. We need to engage SMEs—small and medium enterprises—to participate in waste management. I served on the Public Accounts Committee in the last Parliament, and you [media] carried a lot of stories about how resources meant for cleaning the environment were not being used judiciously.”
Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
Hon. Murtala further highlighted concerns about value for money and efficiency in waste management contracts. While acknowledging the role private waste management companies play, he insisted that creating competition would improve service delivery.
The Minister emphasized that reforming waste management cannot be done in isolation. It requires the involvement of multiple agencies, ministries, and stakeholders.
Hon. Murtala also addressed concerns about unregulated private waste disposal practices, particularly the indiscriminate dumping of refuse by informal waste collectors. He proposed;
Hon. Murtala emphaszied that there should be clear regulations on how waste should be disposed of. He stated that the need to introduce proper waste segregation, where households and cities have separate bins for liquid and solid waste.
Fighting Illegal Mining : A Multi-Stakeholder Approach
Shifting focus, he further compared the waste management situation to that of Illegal mining (galamsey) which he said remained one of the most significant threats to Ghana’s environment. According to him;
“You can’t fight galamsey by just having the government say, we want to fight galamsey. Galamsey is a multifaceted problem—politicians are involved, traditional leaders are involved, civil societies are involved, and even ordinary citizens are involved.
”I watched a video some time ago and a gentleman went to cut down his cocoa trees to sell his land to a galamsey [operators]. He said he had been farming cocoa for several years but couldn’t’ do anything. So, there is a lack of education there. Maybe he may not [realize] the dire consequences of that action to his livelihoods, to his health, and to the health of his people.”
Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation
He pointed out that many young men say they engage in galamsey because they have no other source of income. He noted that there is the need to create opportunities so that the young people have something else to do and cannot justify destroying the environment.
To restore Ghana’s degraded landscapes, Hon. Murtala Mohammed proposed a nationwide tree-planting initiative, expanding on the ‘Tree for Life’ and ‘Blue Waterproof’ projects championed by President John Mahama.
He explained that involving schoolchildren in tree planting would not only restore forests but also instill a culture of environmental responsibility from a young age. Hon. Murtala Mohammed referenced Ethiopia’s successful large-scale reforestation program.
Hon. Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed’s vision for environmental reform in Ghana revolves around a comprehensive national audit, waste management reform, sustainable mining practices, and large-scale reforestation.
He called for collective action from government agencies, private companies, traditional leaders, and citizens to restore Ghana’s environment and ensure sustainable development.
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