Military personnel are to be stationed around Accra’s Korle Lagoon to prevent residents and commercial operators from resuming illegal dumping in newly cleared areas.
Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga stated that military oversight is essential to secure the sites and guarantee long-term sanitation improvements.
“Because if we don’t put soldiers to supervise and secure the areas that have been cleared, people will go back and dump there again,” he said.
The security operation forms a key element of the government’s strategy to tackle the capital’s persistent waste crisis surrounding the lagoon.
Executing the clearance requires extensive logistical backing, including heavy machinery such as excavators, bulldozers, loaders and haulage trucks. The government is currently negotiating with private contractors to supply additional plant and crew, specifically over weekends.
“We are going to convene a meeting with the contractors and tell them that, please, we don’t work on Saturdays and Sundays, so let’s use those days to support the exercise,” Mr Ayariga said.
Refuse removed from the zone will be transferred to the Adepa Waste Management Centre in Nsawam, located in the Eastern Region. The 24-hour facility processes between 1,500 and 1,700 tonnes of waste daily.
Ministers aim to align armed forces personnel, private contractors and sanitation firms to clear the longstanding refuse piles permanently and enforce the dumping ban.
