The
Sanitation and Pollution Levy of 10Gp per litre on petroleum products has
accrued more than GH¢196.5 million as of the end of May this year, 15 months
into its introduction.
The Provost of the College of Education at the University of Ghana, Professor
Martin Oteng-Ababio, said notwithstanding the inflow, there was a bleak future
for the country's sanitation sector due to policy failures over the years.
For instance, he observed that although the government introduced 10 percent
Environmental Excise Tax (EET) on plastic manufacturers earlier in 2011 to
mobilize funds to curb the plastic menace, there was no reliable information on
how much had accrued to the fund and how it had been utilized to tackle the
plastic menace.
The sanitation levy is targeted at raising funds for investment in sanitation
sector infrastructure.
Prof. Oteng-Ababio made the observations during an inaugural lecture at the
University of Ghana, Legon, dubbed: "Double standards, single purpose:
deconstructing the fence wall for sustainable municipal waste management".
Tracing the historical path of Ghana’s waste management systems from the
colonial era till date while providing critical review of policy options, Prof.
Oteng-Ababio said although there were over 136 waste policies in the country,
those policies were largely "inappropriate, misplaced, irrelevant and
harmful," stressing that most of them were politically skewed.
"I consult for most of the big companies in the sanitation and waste
management space. Anytime there is a change in government, they shiver because
if you invest in waste management equipment and there are political issues, you
are in trouble," he said.
He also examined how waste, in its diverse forms, had been defined,
conceptualised, produced and managed in contemporary urban environments and
across different cultural practices.
The lecture was anchored on the position that managing municipal waste was
inextricably linked to the rate of urban growth, the level of development,
climate change dynamics and the prospect of promoting human-centered and
environmentally friendlier management futures.
Source: graphic.com.gh