The Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) has appealed to the government to urgently release outstanding payments owed to waste management contractors by November 7, 2025, to prevent a nationwide shutdown of services.
Addressing a press conference in Accra, ESPA’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Ama Ofori Antwi, warned that Ghana’s waste management sector is on the brink of collapse due to severe operational and financial distress.
She said that many service providers, including waste collectors, transporters, and transfer station operators, are struggling to stay afloat under non-cost-recovery fees fixed by the Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs).
“These rates do not reflect the true cost of service delivery, making our operations economically unsustainable,” Mrs. Antwi stated. “The situation is worsened by the lack of access to functional treatment and disposal sites, many of which are in deteriorated condition due to poor maintenance.”
She explained that rising costs of fuel, electricity, labour, and maintenance—combined with high energy tariffs, inadequate revenue inflows, and delayed government payments—have pushed the sector to the edge.
Many facilities, including landfill sites, solid waste treatment plants, and wastewater facilities, are barely operational.
Mrs. Antwi cautioned that without immediate government intervention, the sector could face a complete shutdown, reversing years of progress in sanitation and public health.
“If payments are not made by November 7, service providers may be forced to suspend operations nationwide, which could trigger a national sanitation and health emergency, with outbreaks of diseases such as cholera, typhoid, and malaria,” she warned.
She revealed that several service providers who borrowed from banks and suppliers to sustain operations have now exhausted all credit lines and are facing legal threats from creditors.
She noted that ESPA has engaged with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development, and relevant parliamentary committees to facilitate payments, but little progress has been made.
To address the crisis, Mrs. Antwi outlined three key interventions the government should consider:
- Immediate Payment of Arrears:
ESPA urges the Ministry of Finance to expedite the release of all pending payments to contractors by the stipulated date. - Policy Review on the Sanitation and Pollution Levy:
The government should review and dedicate the Sanitation and Pollution Levy to directly support waste management infrastructure. Mrs. Antwi noted that the absence of a dedicated budget for waste management threatens the sector’s financial sustainability. - Cost-Recovery Fee Fixing by MMDAs:
ESPA called on all MMDAs to adopt full cost-recovery rates for waste collection in their annual fee-fixing resolutions and ensure these are properly gazetted to reflect the real cost of service delivery.
Mrs. Antwi cautioned that failure to act promptly could result in the closure of landfill and treatment facilities nationwide, leading to job losses, environmental degradation, and a severe public health crisis.
“We call on all relevant government agencies and partners to act decisively—not only to rescue the sector from collapse but also to safeguard public health, protect the environment, and preserve Ghana’s sanitation gains,” she concluded.
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