Nsawam Adoagyiri MP and Minority Chief Whip Frank Annoh-Dompreh has joined residents of Adipa in raising concerns over the transfer of waste from Agbogbloshie and other parts of Accra to the Adipa landfill site.
The MP said the decision to use the landfill in his constituency was taken without adequate consultation with key stakeholders, including the local assembly.
Speaking during an engagement with residents on Monday, September 28, Mr Annoh-Dompreh questioned why large quantities of waste were being transported from Greater Accra to the Eastern Region when other landfill facilities exist within the capital and its surrounding areas.
“Why move the waste from Greater Accra, whilst there are a number of landfill sites in Greater Accra?” he asked.
He also called on the government to explain what informed the selection of Adipa as the destination for waste removed from Agbogbloshie and Jamestown.
The concerns come after the government launched a 90-day exercise aimed at clearing approximately one million tonnes of accumulated waste from Agbogbloshie and Jamestown. The waste is being transported to the Adipa landfill site as part of the operation.
Mr Annoh-Dompreh said residents and local authorities should have been consulted before the exercise began, arguing that communities hosting waste disposal facilities are directly affected by such decisions.
He stressed that his position should not be interpreted as an attempt to obstruct the government's sanitation programme.
“We are not fighting government,” he said, adding that his role as a Member of Parliament was to represent the concerns of constituents.
Residents, however, say the growing volume of waste at the site is creating environmental and health concerns.
Assembly Member for the Asiyaw Adipa Electoral Area, Emmanuel Asamoah, has called for the waste transfer to be suspended and for an independent environmental and health assessment of the landfill site.
He has also given authorities seven days to respond to residents' demands, warning that the community could block access roads to the dumping site if no action is taken.
The controversy comes as government officials maintain that the removal of the Agbogbloshie waste is necessary to address a longstanding sanitation challenge in Accra. Local Government Minister Mahama Ayariga previously described the accumulated waste as a national emergency and said it would be moved to an engineered landfill site where it could be managed under more controlled conditions.
The dispute now centres on how the waste transfer should be carried out while addressing the concerns of communities receiving the refuse.
