INSTITUTIONEN FÖR GEOVETENSKAPER

Examensarbete i Hållbar Utveckling 39

The Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana (2010) and Stakeholder Capacity:

A Case Study of Solid Waste Management in Accra and Koforidua

Linda Appiah Boamah

THEENVIRONMENTALSANITATIONPOLICYOFGHANA(2010)ANDSTAKEHOLDER

CAPACITY:ACASESTUDYOFSOLIDWASTEMANAGEMENTINACCRAANDKOFORIDUA

MASTERTHESIS,2011

AUTHOR:LINDAAPPIAHBOAMAH

SUPERVISOR:Dr.ADAMA­AJONYEONYANTA

PROGRAM:MSc.SUSTAINABLEDEVELOPMENT

Abstract

Managing solidwaste effectivelyhasbecomeaburden formanycountries especially thedevelopingandtheleastdevelopedones.Policiesaremadeasguidelinesforvariousactorsin the waste management sector to implement, but implementation also comes withresourceavailabilityand the capacityof theactors toensure their roles in thepolicyareachieved. This research focuses on the actors in the solid waste management in twoassemblies of Ghana: the New Juaben Municipal Assembly and the Accra MetropolitanAssembly.Thestudyexploresthecapacityofthestakeholdersinthesetwostudyareasinrelation to their roles in the Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana, looking at theircurrent practices in solid waste management. A seven weeks field research in Ghanainvolvingtheuseofsemi‐structured interviews, informal interviews, snow‐ballsampling,participant observation and focus group discussion with actors within the solid wastemanagement sector, provided for the data of the study. The study identifies somechallengesoftheseactorsandgivesrecommendationofsomeissueswhichwouldrequirefurtherresearch.

Keywords:solidwaste,actors,policyimplementation,Ghana

ContentsAcknowledgements.............................................................................................................................................. i

1.0INTRODUCTION............................................................................................................................................. 1

1.2AimandResearchQuestions..........................................................................................................................................2

1.3Scopeandlimitationofstudy.........................................................................................................................................3

2.0METHODOLOGY ............................................................................................................................................ 4

2.1Studyareas...............................................................................................................................................................................4

2.2Datacollection........................................................................................................................................................................6

2.3Dataanalysis ........................................................................................................................................................................ 12

2.4Ethicalconsideration....................................................................................................................................................... 12

3.0CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK....................................................................................................................... 13

3.1Municipalsolidwastemanagement ........................................................................................................................ 13

3.2GovernanceandPublicpolicyimplementation................................................................................................ 14

3.2.1RolesofActorsinSolidwastemanagement............................................................................. 15

3.3PublicPrivatePartnership............................................................................................................................................ 16

4.0FINDINGSANDDISCUSSIONS ..................................................................................................................... 18

4.1Theprocessofpolicyformulation ............................................................................................................................ 18

4.2Anoverviewofthestakeholders............................................................................................................................... 20

4.2.1.Principlesectoragencies ............................................................................................................. 20

4.2.2.Individualsandcommunities ..................................................................................................... 22

4.3Anassessmentofthecapacityofthemajorstakeholdersinthestudyareas.................................... 23

4.3.1StateInstitutions ........................................................................................................................... 23

4.3.2PrivateFormalWasteManagementCompanies....................................................................... 32

4.3.3PrivateInformalwastecollectors ............................................................................................... 42

5.0ConclusionandRecommendation............................................................................................................. 43

REFERENCES ...................................................................................................................................................... 45

APPENDICES....................................................................................................................................................... 49

AppendixI:Guidelinestointerviews.............................................................................................................................. 49

Listoffigures

1.MapoftheNewJuabenMunicipalAssembly

2.MapoftheAccraMetropolitanAssembly

3.Interviewwithastakeholder

4.Participatinginactivitiesofthewasteworkers

5.Aflowdiagramshowingthevariousactorsfortheimplementationofthepolicy

6.Hierarchyofgovernmentinstitutionsinwastemanagementatthetwostudyareas

7.Asmokyfinaldisposalsite,showingproximityoffinaldisposalsitetohouses

8.Equipmentusedinsolidwastecollection

9.Informalwastecollectors

Listoftables

1.Methodsusedandtheinstitutions/individualsthatthesemethodswereusedfor

2.Participantsforsemi‐structuredinterviews

3.Participantsoffocusgroupdiscussions

4.Participantsofinformalinterview

5.Sourcesandtypesofmunicipalsolidwastes

6.AccreditedwastemanagementcompaniesfortheFeeandPerformanceBasedSolidWasteCollectionServiceandtheirareasofoperations

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AcknowledgementsThisresearchwasfundedbytheSwedishFoundationforInternationalCooperationinResearchandHigherEducation–STINT.Theresearchispartofthe(IWWA)IntegratedWasteManagementinWestAfrica(Côted’Ivoire,Ghana,NigeriaandSenegal),whichaimsatproposinganalternativefortheempowermentofauthorities,policymakersandkeystakeholdershavingaroleintheWasteManagementchain.TheIWWAproject,whichisfundedbytheEuropeanUnion,istocontributetotheimprovementofsolidwastemanagementsystemsinWestAfrica,withthesupportofAfricanandEuropeanexperts.

Iwishtoexpressmyprofoundgratitudetoallthosewhomadeitpossibleindiversewaysforthisresearchtobedonesuccessfully.Ialsowanttosayaspecialthankyoutomysupervisor,Dr.Adama‐AjonyeOnyantaforheradviceandpatience,duringtheperiodthisresearchwasconducted.Iamgratefultoalltheparticipantswhosparedtheirtimeformeduringmyfieldwork.Iwouldalsoliketothankmymumforherprayers,mydadforhissupportandmysisterforherloveduringmystudies.Toallmyfriendswhosupportedmeonewayortheotherduringthisresearch.LastlyIamgratefultoGodAlmightyforHisstrengthandguidancethroughoutmyeducation.

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1.0INTRODUCTION1.1Backgroundtotheproblem

‘Agoodsolidwastemanagementsystemislikegoodhealth:ifyouareluckytohaveit,youdon’tnoticeit;itisjusthowthingsare,andyoutakeitforgranted.Ontheotherhand,ifthingsgowrong,itisabigandurgentproblemandeverythingelseseemslessimportant’,(UNHABITAT,2010,p.x).

Waste management, especially solid waste management has become one of the majorchallenges facing countries all over the world today. The nature of solid wastemanagement, thus the priority and the magnitude of the problem differs between andwithincountries.Whilesthedevelopedcountriesseemtohavebeenabletodealwiththissituation to an extent and are focusing their attention on minimizing environmentalpollutionandmaximizing resourcerecovery, indevelopingand lessdevelopedcountries,theattentionisplacedonhowtoprovidebasiccollection,treatmentanddisposalservicestotheincreasingurbanpopulation,increaseincomegenerationandemploymentcreation(Whiteman,SmithandWilson,2001).MostAfricancountriesarefacedwiththechallengesof infrastructure, political, technical, socioeconomic, organizational, regulatory and legalissueswhenitcomestowastemanagement.Indiscriminatedisposalofwaste,resultsinitsaccumulation in public places and the combined disposal of both hazardous and nonhazardous waste is a common practice (Mwesigye et al, 2009). The lack of adequatecapacity of most municipal and state governments to deal with Municipal Solid Waste(MSW)has resulted in refuse being dumped in bothwater bodies and urban landscape,thus only about 40‐50% of waste is reportedly being collected (Mwesigye et al, 2009).OnibokunandKumuyi(1999)assertthattheproblemisactuallynotthevolumeofwastesproduced,buttheinabilityofgovernmentsandwastemanagementfirmstokeepupwithit.They indicated that in1991,outof anestimated36000 tonnesof solidwasteproduced,only7300tonneswastransportedtodumpingsitesbythemunicipalcollectionserviceinMalindi, Kenya (Onibokun and Kumuyi, 1999).The diverse and complex problems facingtowns and cities in Africa, especially the problem posed by urban waste as a result ofinadequate urban infrastructure and social services, call into question the capacity forgovernanceofAfricancountries(OnibokunandKumuyi1999).AwalkthroughAccra,thecapital city of Ghana will show evidence of improper solid waste management; chokeddrains, litteringof thestreetsanduncollectedwastesoverflowing fromwastecontainers.Improper waste management has negative environmental, social, economic and healthimplications. Another dimension is the attribute of solidwastemanagement as a publicgood. Cowen (2008) describes a public good as having two distinct aspects;nonexcludability,meaningservicesprovidedbythatgoodbenefitsallindividuals,including

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non‐payersof theservicesandnonrivalry,meaningthebenefitsofservicesprovidedtoagroup of people do not diminish the benefits to others. This makes solid wastemanagementaverycomplexsectortogovern.

Ghanaaspirestoreachamiddleincomecountrybytheyear2020,butdevelopmentcomesalong with its own challenges, including changes in the amount and types of wastegenerated, as people’s lifestyles change. As one of the ways of mitigating the manyenvironmental problems confronting the country, theMinistry of Local Government andRural Development (MLGRD) in collaboration with the key actors in the wastemanagementsectorrevisedthe1999EnvironmentalSanitationPolicy(ESP).ThenewESP2010 was approved by cabinet on the 31st of March, 2010 and launched on the 30th ofNovember, 2010. The overall goal of the ESP 2010 is ‘to develop a clear and nationallyaccepted vision of environmental sanitation, as an essential social service and a majordeterminant for improving health and life in Ghana’ (Environmental Sanitation Policy,2010). Inordertoachievetheoverallgoal, theESP2010outlinessevenpolicy focusandchallenges that need to be addressed and these include: Capacity development,Information, education and communication, Legislation and regulation, Levels of service,Sustainable financing and cost recovery, Research and development, Monitoring andevaluation. There are ten principal components of environmental sanitation in the ESP,2010; Solid, Liquid and Gaseous waste management, Storm water drainage, Publiccleansing,Controlofpestsandvectorsofdisease,Foodhygiene,Environmentalsanitationeducation, Inspection and enforcement of sanitary regulations, Disposal of the dead,ControlofrearingandstrayingofanimalsandMonitoringtheobservanceofenvironmentalstandards(EnvironmentalSanitationPolicy,2010).Jamesetal(1999)howeverarguethatthere is often a gap between policy formulation and its implementation. Moreover,Mwesigyeetal, (2009)report that thegapbetweenwastemanagementpolicyandactualwastemanagementpractisesarewideningasaresultofcapacityconstraintsorabsenceofwastemanagementfacilitiesforthedifferentkindsofwastes.InthenewESP,therolesofthevariousactorshavebeenspeltoutandthebulkof theenvironmentalserviceswillbeprovidedbytheprivatestakeholders.Thequestionthenis:‘cantheactorsfulfiltheirrolesasoutlinedinthepolicy?

1.2AimandResearchQuestionsTheaimofthestudyistoassessandanalysethecapacityofthemajoractorsinvolvedinsolidwastemanagement inrelationtotheirrolesasspecified in theESP2010, throughacasestudyinAccraandKoforidua.

Inordertoachievetheaimoftheresearch,thefollowingobjectiveshavebeenoutlined;

1.ToidentifythemajoractorsandtheirrolesinsolidwastemanagementasspecifiedintheESP,2010.

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2.Toassessandcriticallyanalysethecapacityoftheactorsinperformingtheirroles

3.Toassessthechallengesoftheseactors

Researchquestions

1.WhoarethemajoractorsandwhataretheirrolesasspecifiedbytheESP2010?

2.Towhatextentaretheactorsperformingtheirallocatedtasks?

3.Whatarethemajorchallengesfacingtheselectedactors?

1.3Scopeandlimitationofstudy

Ghana is divided into ten administrative regionswith each region having its capital city.Out of the ten capital cities, Accra, Kumasi, Tamale and Sekondi‐Takoradi are themajorcities. The remainingminor capitals are Koforidua, Sunyani, Ho, Cape coast, Bolgatanga,andWa.Twooutof the ten cities,namelyAccraandKoforiduawere considered for thisstudy.AccrawaschosenbecauseitisthebiggestandcapitalcityofGhana,whichisnotonlylikely tohaveenormousproblemsbutalsoapriority for thegovernment.Koforiduawashoweverchosenbecauseitisexpectedthatthechoiceofabigcityandsmallonemayyieldinteresting results. Moreover Anku (2000) indicates that most concern for wastemanagementiswiththeurbanareasthantheruralareas.Thechoiceofthestudyareaswasalsoinfluencedbythescopeofthestudy,timeavailablefordatacollection,accesstodataandthecostthatwouldbeincurredduringdatacollection.OfthetenprincipalcomponentsoftheESP,2010,thestudyfocusesonSolidwastemanagement,asGhanastillfacesseveralchallenges in its waste management, especially when it comes to solid waste. Thepredominantwastes generated in Ghana are domestic solidwaste, industrial waste andconstruction wastes (Anku, 2000), which all fall under the category of municipal solidwaste(WorldBank,1999).Therefore,otherwasteslikeliquidandradioactivewasteswerenotincludedinthestudy.ThereisawiderangeofactorsinvolvedwhenitcomestosolidwastemanagementbutasarguedbyClarkeandClegg(1998)citedinReedetal(2009),itisoftennotpossibletoincludeallstakeholders.Non‐GovernmentalOrganisations(NGOs),CommunityBasedOrganisations (CBOs) and households aremajor actors in solidwastemanagementbut for thepurposeof this study, theactors involvedwere thegovernmentinstitutions,privatewastemanagementcompaniesandtheinformalwastecollectors.

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2.0METHODOLOGY

2.1StudyareasProfileoftheNewJuabenMunicipalAssembly(NJMA)

Fig.1.Map of the New JuabenMunicipal Assembly (Geological Survey Department Accra,2010)

The first study area, which is the New JuabenMunicipal Assembly, can be found in theEasternRegionofGhana.Theregion’scapitalisKoforiduaandtheofficeoftheassemblyissituated in the capital. The present status of the NJMA was granted by the LegislativeInstrument (LI) 1426 of 1988.Themunicipality covers a land area of 110 km2. It sharesboundaries on the northwestwith East Akimdistrict, AkwapimNorth on the south‐east,YiloKroboontheeasternborderandSuhumKraboaCoaltardistrictonthewest.Inabidtoestablish decentralization and deepen grassroots participation in governance, thirteen

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Zonal Councils and eighty six Unit Committees have been created (DESSAP,May 2009).Accordingtothe2000PopulationandHousingCensus,themunicipalityhasapopulationof136,768,withagrowthrateof2.6%,whichis lowerthanthenationalaverageof3.1; thepopulation density is 684 persons per square kilometre (DESSAP, May 2009).TheMunicipalityisheterogeneousintermsofethnicitywithahighdominanceofAkansandGa‐Adangbe. Ewes and the northern tribes also constitute a large part of population. ThemunicipalityispredominantlyChristian,constitutingapopulationof82.8%,6.1%Moslemsand2.4%traditionalbelievers(DESSAP,2009).Thekeysectorsofthemunicipaleconomyareindustrialmanufacturingandprocessing,whichconstituteabout26.7%,39.9%fortheservicesector,26.1%fortheagriculturalsectorandfortheothersocio‐economicactivities,7.3%(DESSAP,2009).Themajorityofindustrialestablishmentsareinthecentralbusinessareaofthemunicipality,whilesagriculturalproductioniscarriedoutatsmallsettlementsandtheperi‐urbanlocations.

ProfileoftheAccraMetropolitanAssembly(AMA)

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Fig.2. Map of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (Cooperative Housing FoundationInternational,2009)

TheGreaterAccraRegionisthesmallestofthe10administrativeregionsintermsofarea,occupyingatotallandsurfaceof3,245km2withapopulationof2,905,726in2000(GhanaStatisticalService,2005).Itisdividedintotenadministrativedistricts.TheseincludeAccraMetropolitan Area, Tema Metropolitan Area, Adenta Municipal Area, Ga East MunicipalArea, Ga West Municipal Area, Ga South Municipal Area, Ashiaman Municipal Area,Ledzokuku‐Krowor,DangmeEastandDangmeWest.ThecapitaloftheAccraMetropolitanAssemblyisAccra,whichservesasboththeregionalandnationalcapitalcityofGhana.TheAccraMetropolitanAssembly(AMA)isalsooneoftheonehundredandseventydistrictsinthecountry.Theofficeoftheassemblyislocatedinthecapitalcity.TheAccraMetropolitanAssembly began historically as a Town Council and was first established by the TownCouncil Ordinance of 1894, after the introduction of Native Authorities by the colonialgovernment in 1878, (Report by the AMA, Headquarters, 2009). The native authoritieswerelocalgovernmentsunits,madeupoftraditionalrulerswhoservedascentralfiguresinlocalgovernmentsandwereonlygivenpowerstopassbye‐laws.Accrawasdeclaredacityonthe28thJune,1964andbecametheAccraCityCouncil.TheAMAwasestablishedbythe Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC) Law 207, which has been replaced byenablingLocalGovernmentAct,1993(Act462),(ReportbytheAMA,Headquarters,2009).Geographically, the AccraMetropolitan Assembly covers an area of 200 km2. The southboundaryistheGulfofGuinea,stretchingfromGbegbeyesetoLa.ItsharesboundarywiththeLedzokukuAssemblyontheeast.Onthenorthernside, it isboardedbybothGaEastandGaWestandbythewestbytheGaSouthDistrict.Structurally,theAMAismadeupofthe General Assembly and eleven Sub‐Metropolitan District Councils, which aresubordinate bodies of the Assembly, performing functions delegated to them by theAssembly.WithintheelevenSub‐MetropolitanCouncils, thereareTownCouncils(ReportbytheAMA,Headquarters,2009).

2.2DatacollectionAtotalofsevenweekswasusedforthecollectionoffielddata.Theseincludedsettingdatesfor interviews for the various actors, conducting interviews and participating in theactivitiesof theactors involved insolidwastemanagement.Bothprimaryandsecondarydatawereused for this study.Qualitativemethods suchas semi‐structuredand informalinterviews, snow‐ball sampling, as well as participant observation and focus groupdiscussionswereusedasprimarydatasource.Thesemethodsarefurtherexplainedinthetextbelow.Areviewofliterature,frompeerreviewedjournals,books,andtheinternetalsoprovided for the secondary data component of the study. Atkinson and Hammersley(2007),indicatethat,notonlydodocumentsprovideinformationaboutthesituationbeingstudied but also they are of value in stimulating analytic ideas. To be able to develop

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conceptsconcerningresearch,onehastoreadawiderangeoftextualsourcesondifferenttopics in relation to the research being conducted. This source of data was used tocomplement findings from the field. A total number of ninety‐six participants wereinterviewed.

Keystakeholdersinvolvedinthisstudyinclude;

1. Government institutions whose activities influence waste management in Ghana;Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), Waste ManagementDepartmentoftheAccraMetropolitanAssembly(WMDoftheAMA),EnvironmentalHealthandManagementDepartmentoftheNewJuabenMunicipalAssembly(EHMDoftheNJMA)andtheEnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)Headquarters.

2. Privatewaste collection companies; Zoomlion Limited Ghana (ZLG), J. Stanley OwusuGroupofCompanies(JSOGC),LibertyWasteLimited(LWL).

3. Academics and professionals who are expert in the subject of waste management;UniversityofGhana(UG)Legon,KoforiduaPolytechnic,WasteCareAssociates(WCA)

4.InformalwastecollectorsinAccraandKoforidua.

Tab.1.Methodsusedandtheinstituitions/individualsthatthesemethodswereusedfor.

Method Instituitions/individualsSemi‐structuredinterviews MLGRD, EPA, AMA, NJMA, ZLG, JSOGC,

LWL,WCA,UG,KoforiduaPolytechnicInformalinterviews National Youth Employment Program (NYEP)

workers at ZLG, Drivers at the private wastecompanies,Informalwastecollectors

Snow‐ballsampling LWL,JSOGCParticipantObservation NYEP workers at ZLG, Drivers at the private

wastecompanies,cleanersatNJMA,Focusgroupdiscussion CleanersatNJMA,DriversandNYEPworkersat

ZLG,

Tab.2.Participantsforsemi‐structuredinterviews

Position InstitutionandLocation

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MunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficer NJMA,KoforiduaEasternRegionalDirector ZLGKoforiduaMunicipalOperationsSupervisor ZLGKoforiduaLecturer Energy Department, Koforidua

PolytechnicPrincipalProgramOfficer EPA,KoforiduaDirector of Environmental Health andSanitationDirectorate

MLGRD,Accra

Acting Head, Built EnvironmentDepartment

EPA,Accra

ChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist WMDofAMA,AccraOperationsManager ZLG,AccraActingHead,ResearchandDevelopment ZLG,AccraTransportSupervisor ZLG,AccraAssistantManager(PublicJobs) ZLG,AccraHeadofOperations JSOGC,AccraManager LWL,AccraChiefExecutiveOfficer WCA,AccraCoordinator, Environmental ScienceProgram

FacultyofScience,UG,Accra

Tab.3.Participantsoffocusgroupdiscussions

FocusGroupDiscussions Numberofpeople CategoryandLocation1 20 NYEPworkersatZLG,Circle

area,Accra2 10 NYEP workers at ZLG, East

Legon,Accra3 10 CleanersatNJMA,Koforidua4 13 NYEP workers at ZLG,

Koforidua5 4 Drivers,ZLG,Accra

Tab.4.Participantsofinformalinterview

InformalInterviews NumberofParticipants Location1 2 Driver and Janitor, ZLG,

Koforidua2 5 Cleaners,NJMA,Koforidua

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3 3 Sanitation Guards, NJMA,Koforidua

4 3 1driverand2janitors,ZLG,Accra

5 3 1 driver and 2 janitors,JSOGC,Accra

6 5 Informal waste collectors,Accra

7 2 Informal waste collectors,Koforidua

Semi‐structuredinterview

Asemi‐structuredinterviewwithopenendedquestionswasdesignedforfivemaintargetgroupsandthey includedthekey informantsat theMinistryofLocalGovernmentsRuralDevelopmentandEnvironment,theEnvironmentalProtectionAgency,theheadsofWasteDepartmentsatthetwoMunicipalitiesandthetopmanagementofthePrivateCompaniesinterviewed.IchosethistypeofinterviewstructurebecauseIhadinmindtherecouldbechangesfromwhatIhadperceivedbeforegoingtoGhana.Indeed,aftermyfirstinterviewwith the key informant at the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Irealized Ihad to restructuremy interviewguide toreflectwhat is actuallyhappeningonthe ground. For example I realized that although the ESP 2010 had been approved bycabinet, some of the stakeholders either had little or no knowledge about the policy. Ithereforehadtomakechangesto thatpartofthe interviewguide.This typeof interviewalsoenabledmetoask followupquestionswheneversomethingof interestcameacross,whichservedasa learningplatformforme.Someof thequestions Iasked includedtheirinvolvement in thepolicymakingprocessandthechallengestheyencounterasactors insolidwastemanagement.KvaleandBrinkmann,(2009)indicatethattheelitesareusedtobeingasked about theiropinionsandwhat they thinkabouta subject area.Thishas theadvantageoftheinterviewerhavingreliableinformationaboutthesubjectareabuthasthedisadvantage of the interviewee imposing his or her knowledge on the interviewer. Inorder tominimize this disadvantage, I read various literatures onwastemanagement tohaveenoughknowledgeonthetopicandcontributedtothediscussion,whichmadeitmoreinteresting. The interview was either recorded or written on a notepad based on thepreferenceof the interviewee.Sincemostof the interviewtookplace in theofficesof thestakeholders, several interruptions occurred; people dropping by the offices or theintervieweesreceivingphonecalls.

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Fig.3.Interviewwithastakeholder(Theauthor,2010)

Snow‐ballsamplingtechnique

Snow‐ballsamplingtechnique, inwhichan initialstakeholder is identifiedandsuccessivestakeholders are identified through the first stakeholder, was used to identify keyinformants in the private waste companies. The contacts of the managers of J. StanleyOwusu Group of Companies (JSOGC) and Liberty Waste Limited (LWL) were acquiredduringaninterviewwiththeChiefEnvironmentalTechnologistoftheWasteManagementDepartment,AMA.ThequestionsIaskedthemduringtheinterviewincludedtheirsourceofrevenueandthetrainingprogramsgiventothewasteworkerswithintheircompanies.AmanieWaste Company (AWC) was also contacted and several attempts were made tointerview the manager but it proved futile .This I learnt later was because the wastecompany through which I had contacted Amanie Waste Company had somemisunderstandings. The Snow‐ball sampling method has the advantage of getting easyaccess to interviewees and having less declined interviewees. It however has thedisadvantageofintroducingbiasintotheworkbasedonthesocialnetworkofthefirstorinitialinterviewee,(Reedetal,2009).

ParticipantObservation

Participant observation was used mainly for the drivers and cleaners of the wastecompaniesandtheinformalwastecollectors.HereIwasdirectlyinvolvedwiththetargetgroups.Iwenttotheirplacesofworkat5.30am,sincethesweepersbeginworkat4am.Iswept the streets, collected the waste and sent them to the communal container, thenfinallywentwiththedriverstothefinaldisposalsite.Itwasverydifficulttogetthedriversto interview since most of them preferred to work during the night to prevent intensetrafficontheroad.Workingduringthedaywasadiscomfort tootherroadusersandthe

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driversthemselves.Forexample,ittookatotaloffourhourstomovefromChokor,whichwasoneofthewastecollectionpoints,toOblogo,whereoneofthefinaldisposalsiteswaslocated.Thiswasabout15kilometresjourney,whichthetruckdriverindicatedwouldhavebeenanhourjourney,intheabsenceoftraffic.Thisisoneofthemajoroperationscoststothewastecompanies,especiallythesmallerones.IchosethismethodbecauseIwantedtoknowwhat is actually happening in the field in thewastemanagement sector, and alsohave an experience of the worker’s daily activities. The challenge however with thismethodwasinitiallygainingthetrustoftheworkers,sincetheresearchercanbeseenasanoutsider.ThisIminimizedbyintroducingmyselftothem,statingmyresearchtopicandpurpose of my study and also assuring them the information they will provide will beconfidential.

Fig.4.Participatinginactivitiesofthewasteworkers.(Theauthor,2010)

Informalinterview

Myobservationswerebackedbyconductinginformalinterviewswiththeinformalwastecollectors,cleanersanddriversofthewastemanagementcompanies.Thiswasdoneintheform of a conversation. I first of all informed the managers of the waste managementcompanies aboutmy intention to interview theirworkers. They contacted the operationofficersofthecompaniesatthevariousplaces,whotheninformedthesweepersaboutmyarrival.SomeofthesweepersinitiallythoughtIwasaseniorofficerinthecompany.WhenIintroduced myself to them as a student and the purpose of my work, some weredisappointedandreluctantingivingmeinformation,becausetheythoughtIwasgoingtopublishtheirproblems inthenewspapersorbroadcast itonnational television,sotheirvoices could be heard. Ironicallyothersweremorewilling to giveme informationwhentheyrealizedIwas‘justastudent’andwasnotgoingtomentiontheirnames,whichcould

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put their jobsat risk.Also, someworkerswanted their leaders tobearoundbefore theyspeak,othersweregladtheirsupervisorswerenot there,sotheycouldgivemeasmuchinformationastheycould.ThequestionsIaskedincludedamongstotherstheirknowledgeinthetypesofwastestreamsproduced,wastesortinganditstreatment;whethertheyhadregular checkups; and the feedback from them to the topmanagement level, for those inthewastecompanies.

2.3DataanalysisData was analyzed by transcribing all recorded interviews. A summary of the view ofrespondentsboth recordedandwrittenwas thenmade.Theseviewswere supportedbyrelevant literature, theories and personal observation from the field. The data wasorganizedintothemesbasedonmyresearchquestionsandobjectives.

2.4EthicalconsiderationIntermsoftheethicalconsiderationofmywork,thereweretwomainlevels;

i. The elite, which included the top management officials in the government andprivateinstitutions.

ii. Wastecollectorsnotwithintheinstituitions/wastecompaniesandwastecollectorswithintheinstituitions.

Interviewwiththeelite:

Sincetheseinformantswerebusy,Istartedbyinformingthemaboutmyintentions.Afteragreeingtograntmean interview, Ibookedanappointmentwiththem.Adaybeforetheinterview, I called to remind them of the appointment. Some cancelled themeeting andrescheduled,whilesothersmetmeonthedayweinitiallyagreedon.Beforestartingwiththe interview, I informedthe intervieweesabout theaimof theworkandwhat itwillbeused for.After that, I asked them if itwillbeappropriate forme to recordorwriteonanotepad with the assurance that their responses will be confidential and very muchappreciated. This is very vital because some informants are uncomfortable when theyknowwhat they are saying is being recordedandmight not even provide the necessaryinformation.

Interviewwiththewastecollectorswithinandoutsidethewastecompanies:

Withtheserespondents, I informedthetopmanagement levelof thewaste companiesofmyintentionsbeforeapproachingthem.Istatedthepurposeofmystudyandwhatitwillbe used for. I assured them (especially thosewithin thewastemanagement companies)thatwhat theywill saywill be treatedwithmaximum confidentiality. This is importantbecause they are at the bottom level of management and have the potential of beingvictimizedincasetheysaysomethingthatisconfidentialandsensitive.

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3.0CONCEPTUALFRAMEWORK

3.1MunicipalsolidwastemanagementSolidwastemanagementinvolvesthecollection,sourceseparation,storage,transportation,transfer,recycling,treatmentandthefinaldisposalofsolidwaste.Municipalsolidwastesinclude waste from household, non‐hazardous solid waste from commercial andinstitutional establishment, and non‐process industrial wastes (Tchobanoglous, 2009). AWorldBankreportgivesamoredetaildescriptionofmunicipalsolidwastemanagementandthetablebelowexplainsthedescription.

Tab.5.Sourcesandtypesofmunicipalsolidwastes

Source Typicalwastegenerators Typesofsolidwastes

Residential Singleandmultifamilydwellings Food, wastes, paper, cardboard, plastics,textiles, leather, yard wastes, wood, glass,metals, ashes, special wastes (oil andbatteries).

Industrial Light and heavy manufacturing,fabrication, construction sites,powerandchemicalplants

Housekeeping wastes, packaging, foodwastes, construction and demolitionmaterials, hazardous wastes, ashes, specialwastes.

Commercial Stores, hotels, restaurants,markets,officebuildings

Paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, foodwastes, glass, metal, special wastes,hazardouswastes.

Institutional Schools, hospitals, prisons,governmentcenters

Paper, cardboard, plastics, wood, foodwastes, glass, metal, special wastes,hazardouswastes.

Constructionanddemolition

New construction sites, roadrepair, renovation sites,demolitionofbuildings

Wood,steel,concrete,dirt.

Municipalservices

Street cleaning, landscaping,parks, beaches and otherrecreationalareas

Street sweeping, landscape and treetrimmings, general wastes from parks,beachesandotherrecreationalareas

Processes Heavy and light manufacturing,refineries, chemical plants, powerplants, mineral extraction andprocessing.

Industrialprocesswastes,scrapmetals,off‐specificationproducts,slag,tailings.

Source:InternationalBankforReconstructionandDevelopment,WorldBank,1999

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In order to achieve sustainable and effectivewastemanagement, Schubeler,Wehrle andChristen (1996),points to theneed togobeyond just the technical considerations to thepolitical,economic,institutional,financial,technicalandsocialaspectofMSWM.Thesearealso the strategic components of SWM.Political aspect includes the formulationof goals,determination of actors’ roles, and the legal and regulatory framework;Economic aspectdeals with impact of services on economic activities and cost‐effectiveness of MSWMsystem; Institutional aspect concerns the allocation of functions and responsibilities,correspondence to organizational structures, institutional capacities and private sectorinvolvement;Financialaspectdealswithbudgetingandcostaccounting,capitalinvestmentcostrecoveryandcostreduction,(Schubeler,WehrleandChristen,1996).Technicalaspectinvolvestheplanning,implementationandmaintenanceofcollectionandtransfersystems,waste recovery, final disposal and hazardouswaste management; Social aspect includeswaste generation patterns, handling of households and other users, community‐basedwaste management and the social conditions of waste workers, (Schubeler, Wehrle andChristen,1996).

3.2GovernanceandPublicpolicyimplementationGovernanceplaysaverycrucialroleinwastemanagement.Thepastfewdecadeshaveseenperiodsofchangesinthewastemanagementofvariouscountries,especiallyinrelationtogovernance. Kironde (1999) broadly defines governance as themanner inwhich a stategoverns the terrain and people under its authority. However he explains that, currentconceptualizationofgovernancetranscendsthis traditionalnotion.Governance isseenasthe totality of structures and processes, which a state exercises powers through officialinstitutions and procedures; relationship between the exercise of these powers andsociety;andtheorganizationssetuptorespondtothestateandpromotesociety’sinterest(Kironde,1999).Forawell functioningwastemanagement system, theUN also suggeststheneedofgoodgovernance.Threeaspectsof‘goodwastegovernance’wereprescribedbythe UN. First of all, the system should be inclusive by providing all stakeholders theenabling environment to contribute as users, enablers and providers. Again thestakeholders should be involved during the planning, implementing and monitoring ofwastemanagementactivities.The secondarea is theprovisionof financial sustainability,whichmeansmakingwastemanagementservicescost‐effectiveandaffordable.Lastlythesystemshouldhavea strongand transparent institutional framework, aswell aspoliciesthatarepro‐active,(UNHABITAT,2010).Inviewofthischangingnatureofgovernance,HillandHupe(2002),suggestthat,fortheimplementationofanypublicpolicy,itisimperativetounderstand theprocessof implementationandaddresshow to control andaffect thisprocess. Implementation is usually in association with the carrying out, fulfilling or thecompletionofapolicy.Theyindicatethatduringtheimplementationstage,thecontentofapolicyanditsimpactonthoseaffectedcanbemodified,complicatedorevennegated(ibid).

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HillandHupe(2002)howeverconcludethatimplementationisaverycomplicatedprocess,wheremuchcangowrong.Inpolicyimplementation,comparingwhatisaccomplishedandwhat isexpected,often leadstowhat isknownas ‘policygap’or ‘policy failure’ (Dunsire,1978acitedinHillandHupe,2002).HillandHupe(2002)reportthatitcouldbeasaresultofamongstothers,poorchainofcommand,problemswithstructuresandroles,unsuitableenvironmentalconditions,organisationalstructure,management/labourconflictsandpoorinformation flow. Generally, before ‘implementation’, there is a prior act of formulatingwhat needs to be done and making decision on that. During the process of policyformulation,thereistheneedtoidentifythevariousactorsandtheirroles(HillandHupe,2002)

3.2.1RolesofActorsinSolidwastemanagementStakeholders are defined by Grimble and Wellard, (1997) as ‘any group of people,organizedorunorganized,whoshareacommoninterestorstake inaparticular issueorsystem’. Schubeler, Wehrle and Christen (1996), explain Municipal Solid WasteManagement (MSWM) as a complex task, requiring suitable organizational capacity andcooperationbetweenseveralactorsinboththeprivateandpublicsectors.Outlinedbelowaretherolesofthevariousactorsformunicipalsolidwastemanagement.

Nationalgovernment; theyareresponsible fortheestablishmentof institutionalandlegalframework.Theyarealsotosupportandensurethatlocalgovernmentshavetheauthority,powerandcapacitytoeffectivelymanagesolidwaste.Thisisusuallydonewithoutthelocalgovernment being given the needed support to build capacity (Schubeler, Wehrle andChristen1996).

Local government; solid waste collection and disposal services are generally theresponsibilityof the local government.The responsibilityof enforcingbylaws, regulatingsolidwastemanagementactivitiesandmobilizingresources forsolidwastemanagementbythe localgovernment isconferredbyhighergovernmentauthorities. Incaseaprivatecompanyiscontractedtoprovidesolidwasteservices,thelocalgovernmentismandatedtoregulate and control the activities of these private companies (Schubeler, Wehrle andChristen1996).

AccordingtoSchubeler,WehrleandChristen(1996),theformalprivatesectorinprovidingservicessuchascollection,transfer,treatment,recyclingandordisposalofwastes,areaswellinterestedinmakingprofitfortheirbusinesses.Theyprovideservices,eitherdirectlyto individuals, community associations and business establishments, or operate undervarious partnership agreements with the metropolitan or municipal authorities. The

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municipal authorities in turn regulate theprivate companies’ activities,by regulating theuserfeecollectiontoensureequitableservices,(ibid).

The Informal private sector comprises of individuals or small groups, involved inunregisteredandunregulatedwastemanagementactivities.Theyareusuallyselfemployedorare in informallyorganizedgroupsand their activitieswhich includewaste collection,transportation, separation, recycling and disposal constitute economically valuableservices(Schubeler,WehrleandChristen1996).As importantas theirworkmaybe, it isdifficult to integrate the informal sector into the Municipal Solid Waste Management(MSWM).This ismainlyasaresultof theirmarginalization,unstablesocial andeconomiccircumstances(ibid).

Households and Communities; the main interest of households, especially the residentialhouseholds, is toreceiveeffectivewastecollectionservices,andwastedisposal isusuallynot their priority so far as it is not affecting their surroundings. In low‐income areashowever,asaresultof lackofotherservicessuchaselectricity,waterandothersanitaryservices,solidwasteisnormallynotgivenmuchattentionandareusuallyindiscriminatelydumped (Schubeler, Wehrle and Christen 1996).Improvement of solid waste collectionservicesmaybeaprioritywhentheotherservicesaremadeavailableandpeoplebecomeaware of the negative impact of poor solid waste management. Community‐BasedOrganisations (CBO) are however informal organizations formed by members of thecommunitytoaddressthecommunity’sneeds.Theymayalsobeformedasaresultofpoorenvironmentalconditionsorserviceprovisionandrespondtothisbyinitiatingsolidwastemanagementoperations suchasprimary collectionandstreet cleaning (AhmedaandAli,2004; Schubeler, Wehrle and Christen 1996). They petition the government to improveservices or environmental conditions within the community and have the potential inmanagingthe localsolidwaste, ifproperlyorganized.Provisionofsocialservices is theirprimarymotivationratherthanprofitmaking(ibid).

Non­GovernmentalOrganizations: canact as intermediariesbetween thegovernmentandtheprivatesector(SchubelerWehrleandChristen1996).Theirscopeofworkmayincludecreatingawarenessonwastemanagementproblems,formationofCBO’sandcontributingto organizational capacity, serving as communication channels between community andgovernment sector, representing the community in municipal planning, implementationprocessesanddisseminationof information (AhmedandAli, 2004;SchubelerWehrleandChristen1996).Socialconcerns forwastepickersmayalsobeamotivating factorandthedrivingforcefortheiractivitiesismainlytoachieveagoal,ratherthanprofitmaking(ibid).

3.3PublicPrivatePartnershipThe UNDP broadly defines partnership as a ‘voluntary or collaborative alliance whichimpliescooperationbetweentwo(ormore)actorsbeitpublic,private,non‐governmental

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organizations(NGOs)oranygroupofindividualswhichcouldfundamentallyhavedifferentobjectives, values, cultures, structures, but are sharing risks, responsibilities, resources,andcompetencies,whilstcommittedtocommontasks,whichwouldachievetheirspecificindividual goals’ (UNDP, 2006, p 12). The OECD however defines public‐privatepartnership as ‘an agreement between the government and private partners, where theprivate partners deliver the service in such a manner, that are in line with both thegovernment’s objectives and the profit objectives of the private partners. Achievingeffectively theobjectivesofbothgovernmentand theprivatepartners isdependentonasufficient transfer of risk to the private partners’ (OECD, 2008, cited in OECD, 2010, p18).The transfer of risk to the private partner must be through appropriate paymentmechanismandspecificcontractterms.Theprivatepartnermaybetaskedwithprovisionofservicestothepublicandbepaidbythegovernmentorthroughuserchargesfromtheendusersoftheservicesorboth(OECD,2010).Governmentorthepublicsectormayhavevariousreasonsforindulginginpublic‐privatepartnershipforgoodsandservicesdelivery.Posner,RyuandTkachenko(2009),indicatethat the primary reason for this partnership is as a result of constriants on governmentrolesandspending,whilesothersarebasedonthefactthattheprivateprovisionreducesthe negative effect of higher fees for services andmakes the public bugdet look smaller.They further identify efficiency and fiscal constraints as the twomain driving forces forpublicprivatepartnership (Posner, Ryuand Tkachenko,2009cite inOECD,2010).Theprivatesector isregardedashavingthemotivationtoachievegreaterefficiencythanthepublicsectorprovidingservicesaloneasaresultofcompetitivemarkets.Thecompetitivemarkets allow the private sectors to come up with new methods of productions andinnovations,whichforcesexistingcompaniestoeitheradapttonewconditionsorcollapse(OECD,2010).The fiscal constraints is explainedasbeing theneed for thegovernment toreduce itspublicspendingtomeetapolitical, legislatedor treaty‐mandated fiscal targets(ibid). Davis (1986) however cautions that the private public partnership should not beseenasameretrendoraremedyforproblemsconcerningserviceprovision;especiallyitshouldnotbeseenasbudgetgapfiller.

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4.0FINDINGSANDDISCUSSIONS

4.1TheprocessofpolicyformulationPolicieschange inmanywaysandforvariousreasons.Whilessomepoliciesarenewandinnovative, others are just adjustments made to earlier policies (Hogwood and Peters,1983;Polsby,1984,cited inBennettandHowlett,1992).Aftersixyearsof implementingtheEnvironmentalSanitationPolicy(ESP)1999ofGhana, ithadbecomeevident that thepolicyhad failed toaddress certain issuesand therewas theneed tomakeadjustments.DuringtheformulationoftheESP,1999,globalandnationaldevelopmentconceptssuchasMillenniumDevelopmentGoals, theGrowthandPovertyReductionStrategyandtheNewPartnership for African Development had not yet surfaced (MLGRD/EHSD, 2010). Theseglobal and regional agendas are accompanied by certain notions about development ingeneral and servicedelivery inparticular.As a result,Bennett andHowlett (992)advicethat,policymakersadapttochangingconditionstopreventfailureoftheirpolicies. Theyposit that, governments learn from their experiences and modify their present actionsbasedonthesuccessorfailureoftheirpreviousactions(BennettandHowlett1992).Overtheyears,sanitationinGhanahastakendifferentdimensions.Thepreviouspractiseofthegovernmentbeingsolelyresponsible forsolidwastemanagementhasbeenreplacedbyasysteminwhichboththeassembliesandprivatecompaniesshareresponsibilitiesorasinsomecases, theprivatecompaniesaresolelyresponsible forwastecollection(BoadiandKuitunen,2004).DirectoroftheEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD,confirmedthisnewpracticepointingoutthat;

“Sanitation services were initially provided solely by the Metropolitan, Municipal and District

Assemblies,puttingalotofpressureonthealreadystretchedresourcesoftheassemblies”.(DirectorEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD)

Mwesigye et al, (2009) assert that the changing lifestlyes and consumption pattern ofespeciallythegrowingurbanmiddleclassisincreasingthecomplexityandcompositionofthewastestreamsinAfrica.InGhana,therehavebeenchangesinthelifestylesofpeople,resulting in changes even in the types ofwaste generated. An example is the shift frompackagingfoodswithbiodegradablesubstanceslikeleaf,topackagingfoodswithplastics.Thesechangescalledforurgentactions,basedonaclearnationalpolicy.Inviewofthesefactors, the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) incollaborationwithvariouswastemanagementactors,suchasMinistries,DepartmentsandAgencies; Metropolitan Municipal and District assemblies; Private waste managementcompanies,NGO’sandCBO’sformulatedtheESP,2010.Stakeholdersplayaveryvitalrolein the implementation of a policy and their involvement in the policy formulation to anextent determines how well or not that policy is implemented (Grimble and Wellard1997).This study revealed that a wide range of stakeholders were involved during thepolicy formulationatvarious levels. In the caseof thenewESP inGhana, at thenational

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level,thestakeholdersinvolvedincludedMinistry,DepartmentandAgencies(MDA’s)suchastheMinistryofLocalGovernmentandRuralDevelopmentandEnvironmentalProtectionAgency (EPA).The Metropolitan, Municipal and District assemblies were involved at theregionalanddistrictlevel.PrivatewastemanagementcompaniessuchasZoomlionGhanaLimited (ZLG) and Liberty Waste Limited (LWL) were also among the participatingstakeholders.InternationalorganisationssuchasUnitedNationsChildren’sFund(UNICEF)andNon‐GovernmentalOrganisationsincludingPlanGhana,WorldVision,PRONET,ActionAid were also involved in the policy making. Also individuals and households wereinvolved in the policy formulation. Households were brought into the process throughconsultations with associations such as Queen Mothers frommarket places like KejetiaMarketinKumasi,YamWorkersAssociationsandLandlordsAssociations,amongstothers.AccordingtotheDirectorofEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD:

“Therewerealsozonalconsultationsforalltheregions.TheyweregroupedintoNorthern,UppereastandUpperwest; Brongahafo, Ashanti andWestern;andEastern,Volta, CentralandGreaterAccra.The consultations took the form of brainstorming sections, discussions, group works and fora.Challenges confronting each sector were presented and there were consultants who facilitated the

process”(DirectorEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD).

AlsotheChiefExecutiveOfficeratWasteCareAssociatefurtherexplainedthat:

“Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) was adopted for the formulation of this policy, whichreplaced the formally used Environmental Impact Assessment. SEA seeks to expand the scope ofengagementanditremovestheEIAexpertknowledgefromit.Sustainabilitycriteriaweredefinedandtheparticipantswereaskedtogroupthemintored(leastsustainable),yellow(sustainable)andgreen(most sustainable)groups.Discussionsweremadeastohowto shiftthe redtoyellowandyellowto

green”(ChiefExecutiveOfficer,WCA)

However,thestudyrevealedthattheinformalsolidwasteactorssuchaswastecollectorsand waste pickers were not involved in the policy formulation. According to (Moreno‐SanchezandMaldonado2006),theinformalwaste‐pickersindevelopingcountriescollect40%ofrecyclablematerialfromthewastestream.Despitetheirsignificantcontributiontosolid waste management, authorities in many developing countries do not realize thebenefitsoftheinformalwasteactors,andtheiractivitiesareignoredwhendesigningsolidwaste management policies and programs (Medina, 2000 cited in Moreno‐Sanchez andMaldonado, 2006).In Ghana, the informal sector plays an important role in the wastecollectionandrecycling.AstudyconductedbyOteng‐Ababio(2010),revealedthatwithintheAccraMetropolitanAssembly,60%ofresidentsfromthemiddle‐incomeareasemploytheservicesofwastecollectors.Theycollectwastesfromresidencies,marketplaces,lorryparks,etc,anddisposeitatcommunalcontainersitesforafee.Allrecyclingactivitiesareprivately owned and are currently undertaken by the informal solid waste actors, whowork at the dumpsites (Oteng‐Ababio, 2010). Not only does recycling contribute to

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environmental sustainability, it also reduces the amount of waste that ends up in thelandfill; an important factor to considerdue to increase in the scarcityof land forwastedisposal.

4.2AnoverviewofthestakeholdersThepolicyidentifiedtwomaintargetgroupsfortheimplementationofthepolicy.OnonehandareIndividualsandCommunitiesandontheotherhandaretheInstitutions.(SeeFig.5below).Theflowchartbelowexplainsit.

Fig.5. A flow diagram showing the various actors for the implementation of the policy(AdoptedfromESP,2010)

Theprincipalsectoragenciesaredirectlyresponsible forenvironmentalsanitation,whilethe allied sector agencies play supporting roles. The Principal sector agencies are theMinistryofLocalGovernmentandRuralDevelopment (MLGRD),Metropolitan,MunicipalandDistrictAssembliesandthePrivateSector.Theirrolesarefurtherexplainedinthetextbelow. TheAllied sector agencies amongst others includeministries such as,Ministry ofHealthandGhanaHealthServices,MinistryofEducation, ScienceandSports,MinistryofWaterResources,WorksandHousingandMinistryofFinanceandEconomicPlanning.

4.2.1.PrinciplesectoragenciesThe following are the roles of the actors with regards to solid waste management asprescribedbytheESP,2010:

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A.MinistryofLocalGovernmentandRuralDevelopment

Within the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), theEnvironmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) shall play a leading role, insupportingenvironmentalsanitation.Theirfunctionsshallinclude;

i.GuidingtheMLGRDonenvironmentalsanitationsectorplanning,policyandlegislation.

ii.ProvidetechnicalassistancetoDistrictAssembliesandenvironmentalserviceproviders.

iii. Co‐ordinate and disseminate the results of research in the environmental sanitationfield.

iv.Regulatebothpublicandprivateserviceproviders.

B.Metropolitan,MunicipalandDistrictAssemblies

Theassembliesshallberesponsibleforwastemanagementandenvironmentalmonitoring;

i.WasteManagement

TheWasteManagement Departmentwithin theMetropolitan andMunicipal Assemblies,and the District Environmental Health and Management Departments of the DistrictAssemblies,shallcarryoutthecollectionandsanitarydisposalofsolid,industrial,health‐care and other hazardous wastes; and cleaning of public places. These services can beprovidedeitherdirectlyorindirectlythroughtheprivatecontractorsorfranchisees.Inallcases,theassemblyshallmaintainanin‐housecapacitytoprovideatleast20%ofservicesdirectly.

ii.EnvironmentalMonitoring

In collaborationwith the EPA, an Environmental Protection and Standards EnforcementDivision within the Environmental Health and Management Department shall beresponsible for the monitoring and enforcement of environmental standards andregulationssetbytheEPAandothernationalregulatoryagencies;organizationandpubliceducationonenvironmentalpreservation.Incasethisserviceisgiventoaprivateserviceprovider, the Waste Management Department will be responsible for sanctioning theprivate service provider, if any infringements are made against the environmentalstandardsinaccordancetotheagreement.

C.Theprivatesector

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Theprivatesector,whichismainlytheprivatewastecompanies,shallprovidethebulkoftheenvironmentalservicesunderthesupervisionof thepublicsector.Theyshalloperatewithinpolicies,regulations,supervisoryandlicensingarrangements,whicharesetbythepublicsector,topromoteefficiencyandcompetitiveness.AllactivitiesoftheprivatesectorshallbedonewithinthelawsofGhanaandthePublicProcurementAct1.Theservicestobeprovidedbytheprivatesectorshallinclude;

i. Solidwastecollection fromindividual, institutionalordomesticcustomers,subjecttothesupervisionandsettingofmaximumtariffsbytheassemblies.

ii. Solidwastecollectionfromcommunalcontainersundercontracttotheassemblies,unitcommitteeorcommunitygroupsoraspartofa franchise,coveringbothhighandlowincomeareas.

iii. Cleaningofdesignatedareasandfacilitiessuchasstreets,drains,marketsandlorryparks and maintenance of drains, under the agreements covering solid wastecollection

iv. Provision and management of waste treatment, recycling and disposal facilities,transfer stations and bulk waste transfer to the disposal site under contract,franchise,concessionorotherarrangement.

4.2.2.IndividualsandcommunitiesA.Individualresponsibility

i.Cleaningofimmediatesurroundingsofthepropertytheyoccupy.

ii. Temporary storage ofwastewithin the property and disposal outside property, asdirectedbyacompetentauthority.

iii.Hygienicallydisposingofallwastesgeneratedinpublicareas,byuseofanauthorizedpublictoiletorsolidwastecontainerasappropriate.

B.Community‐basedandNon‐governmentalorganizations

i.Assistcommunitiesincommunitymobilization.

ii.AssisttheDistrictAssemblies,TownCouncils,UnitCommitteesandcommunitiesintheplanning, funding and development of community sanitation infrastructure for the safedisposalofwastesandthepreventionofsoil,waterandairpollution.

1PublicProcurementAct:ItenablesthePublicProcurementBoardtomakeadministrativeandinstitutionalarrangementforthepurchaseoftheappropriategoodsandservices(ThePublicProcurementAct,2003)

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4.3Anassessmentofthecapacityofthemajorstakeholdersinthestudyareas

4.3.1StateInstitutions

Fig.6.Hierarchyof government institutions inwastemanagementat the twostudyareas(Fieldwork,2010)

Themain stakeholders in the government institutions for the two study areaswere theMinistryofLocalGovernmentandRuralDevelopment,AccraMetropolitanAssembly,NewJuaben Municipal Assembly and the Environmental Protection Agency. Within theseinstitutions, there are subsections that deal directly with the waste management. Thecapacityofthesestakeholdersisexplainedfurtherinthetextbelow.

A.MinistryofLocalGovernmentandRuralDevelopment(MLGRD)

This is the leading sector agency responsible for environmental sanitation. TheministryhastheEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate(EHSD)asitstechnicalunit.

“The functions of the EHSD are to give technical advice to the ministry on sanitation as well asensuring the formulation of appropriate environmental sanitation policies. Also the directorate isresponsibleforthemonitoringandevaluationofsectoragenciessuchasthemetropolitan,municipal

anddistrictassemblieson sanitation issues”(DirectorofEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD)

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When it comes to waste management the ministry employs people to the variousassemblies. They also give technical assistant to the assemblies. The Director ofEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRDindicated;

“Asaresultofdecentralizationtheministryhastransferredpowertothemetropolitan,municipalanddistricts assemblies for the implementation of environmental sanitation policy. Theministrymainlydealswithpolicy formulation”(DirectorofEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD)

B.AccraMetropolitanAssembly(AMA)

Wastegenerationandcollection

Asreported inastudyconductedbyTsiboeandMarbell, thetotalamountofsolidwastegenerated within the AMA zone was 500‐1800 tonnes per day, in 2002 (Tsiboe andMarbell, 2004). This study however revealed that, within the AMA zone, an estimatedpopulation of 4 million generate a total of 2200 tonnes of solid waste per day,correspondingto0.6kgperpersonperday,(WMD/AMA,2010).Thedifferenttypesofsolidwastes generatedwithin theAMA zone are composed of 65%organic, 6%paper, 6%ofplastic,3%ofglass,2.5%metals,1.7%oftextilesand15.8%ofinertmaterials,(WMDoftheAMA, 2010). All these waste types are put together and disposed at the landfill site.Althoughtherehasbeenasharpincrease(from500tonnesto2200tonnes)intheamountofwastegenerated, therehadbeenvery little improvement in the resourcesavailable tothe assembly. Solid waste management is a major responsibility of local governments,accountingfor20‐50%ofthemunicipalbudgetindevelopingcountries(Schubeler,WehrleandChristen1996).MostmunicipalitiesandmetropolitanassemblieswithinAfricancitiesare insufficiently equipped to dealwith the collection and disposal of wastes.Municipalsolidwastemanagementhascontinuallybeenamajorproblemforstateauthoritiesanditis often beyond the capacity of the municipalities (Mwesigye et al, 2009). This studyrevealed that due to the inadequate capacity of the AMA to deal with solid wastemanagement,theconceptofthepolluter‐paysprinciplewasintroduced.Thepolluter‐paysprincipleistheconcept,wherethegeneratorsofwastepayforthedisposaloftheirwastes.This can be done through contracting the services of awastemanagement company forwaste collection or paying at the communal container site during waste disposal(WMD/AMA,2010).Thereareseriouschallengeswiththissystemaspeoplearenotusedtopaying for their waste disposal. Cointreau‐Levine (1994) reports that, in communitieswhere residents have not been sensitized on the need for public cleaniness, there is theresistance in thewillingnessofpeopletopay forwasteservices.Similarobservationwasmade by Mwesigye et al (2009),when they state that, waste management problems inAfrica areworsened by the public perceptionofwaste disposal as awelfare service and

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hencethereluctanceofpeopletopayforwastedisposal,especiallythepoor.TheDirector,EnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRDexplained:

“Sometimeagosanitationservicesweresolelydeliveredbytheassembliesandnoonewaspaying,butwereacheda stagewherewerealized that this system isnot sustainableand therefore therewasaneed for us to look at it and inject some sustainablemeasures, such as the polluter­pays principle”(DirectorEnvironmentalHealthandSanitationDirectorate,MLGRD)

TheChiefEnvironmentalTechnologistoftheWMDatAMAfurtherelucidated:

“With authority from the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, the assemblyintroducedthepolluter­paysprinciple inthewholeofAccra.Thisservicestartedfromthe1stof June,2010. There are however serious challengeswith this system, especially in the low incomeareas astheyarenotusedtopayingfortheirwastedisposalservices”(ChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist,WMD/AMA).

Thepolluter‐paysprincipleisinrelationtoaprogramknownastheFeeandPerformanceBasedSolidWasteCollectionProgram(FPBSWCP).Thiswastecollectionprogramexplainsthat all households, institutions, hospitals, commercial establishment, clinics, etc mustregisterwithAMAaccreditedwastecontractorsforwastecollectionfromtheirrespectivepremises.Householdssendingtheirwastetothecommunalcontainersites,havetopayafee,dependingontheamountofwastesperheadload,(WMD/AMA,2010).

Tab.6.AccreditedwastemanagementcompaniesfortheFeeandPerformanceBasedSolidWasteCollectionServiceandtheirareasofoperations

ServiceProvider DesignatedArea/SubMetroYafuru/Almanuel/Catrol OkaikoiNorthAryeeteyBrothersCo.Ltd AyawasoEastAsaduRoyalWasteLtd AblekumaNorthDabenCleansingLtd LaJ.StanleyOwusuGroupofCompanies OkaikoiSouthJekoraVentures,LibertyWasteLtd OsuKlotteyMeskworldLimited AshieduKetekeLibertyWasteLimited AblekumaSouthZoomlionGhanaLtd Ayawaso west, Ayawaso Central and

AblekumaCentralSource:(WMD/AMA,2010)

ThisstudyidentifiedtwomaintypesofsolidwastecollectionintheAMAzone;thedoortodoorcollectionservicesandthecommunalcontainerservices.Thedoortodoorservicesismainly for high and somemiddle class income areas, whiles the communal container is

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mainly for the low income areas. With the door to door collection, the individualhouseholdsstoretheirwastesincontainersthathavebeenprovidedbytheprivatewastecompany as a result of their contract with these private companies. The private wastecompaniescollecthouseholdwastesonceeveryweek.Dependingontheclassofthehouse,thereisaservicefeeof14GHS2forthehighclass,10GHSforthemiddleclassand3.30GHSfor the low class. For the communal collection services, individuals from the householdssendtheirwastetocommunalcontainersite,whichisthenpickedupbytheprivatewastecompany.Theypaya feeranging from20‐50pesewadependingonthehead load. ItwasdiscoveredthatinAccra,thereis100%wastecollectionbytheprivatecompanies.ThiswasconfirmedbytheChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist,WMDofAMA;

“Waste collection has been given on a 100% contract bases to the private waste managementcompanies. The AMA only monitors the activities of these contractors. A monitoring team inspectshouseholds and the communal container sites to find out if the waste management companies areperforming their duties. Contracts are taken from non­performing companies and given to others”

(ChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist,WMD/AMA)

AccordingtotheESP,2010,‘theassemblyshallberesponsibleforthecollectionanddisposalofsolidwaste.Theseservicescanbeprovidedeitherdirectlyorindirectlythroughtheprivatecontractorsor franchisees. Inallcases, theassemblyshallmaintainan in­housecapacity toprovideat least20%ofservicesdirectly’.PracticallytheonlyfunctionbeingcarriedoutbytheWasteManagementDepartmentof theAccraMetropolitanAssemblywith regards tosolid waste management is to monitor the activities of the private waste managementcompanies. An area is reassigned to anotherwastemanagement company if that privatewaste management company does not perform satisfactorily. As stated by the ChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist,WMDofAMA:

“PlaceslikeNima,andthecentralbusinesscentrewererecentlytakenfromoneprivatecompanyandgiventoZoomlionGhanaLimited(ZGL).This isoneoftheregulatorymechanismstoensurethatthe

privatecompaniesdotheirworkeffectively.”(ChiefEnvironmentalTechnologist,WMDofAMA)

The assembly has transferred all the risks involved inmanaging the solidwaste such asnon‐payment of services by clients, to the private sector. As indicate by the OperationsManagerofZGL

“This takes the burden off the AMA’s shoulder and places a sole responsibility on the private

companies”(OperationsManager,ZGL)

2GHS is the currencyof Ghana,knownas the Ghanaian Cedi.Apesewa=1/100GHS (apesewa is a smallerdivisionofacedi).1GHS=0.6629U.SDollars

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Although theAMAregulates the tariff chargesof these companies,Davis (1986) cautionsthat the private public partnership should not be seen as a remedy for problemsconcerningserviceprovision.AsareportbytheOECDpointsout,

‘Principal to public­private partnership is the transfer of risk to the private partner. Riskshould be allocated where it can be best managed. Risk should not be transferred to theprivatepartneratanypriceforthesakeoftransferringriskalone.Risktransfertotheprivatepartnermayincreasevalueformoney,butonlyuptothepointwhereitcreatestheincentivefor the private partner to improve efficiency. Beyond that point, the value formoneymaydiminishasgreaterlevelsofriskaretransferredtoaprivateparty’,(OECD,2010).C.NewJuabenMunicipalAssembly(NJMA)

Wastecollection

Althoughlocalgovernmentsareresponsiblefortheprovisionofsolidwastemanagementservices,Cointreau‐Levine(1994)arguestheyarenottoaccomplishthetaskentirelywiththeirownstaff,equipmentsandmonies.Infact,thisiswhereprivatizationcomesintoplay.An interviewwiththeMunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficerrevealedthatbetween85‐90%ofthesolidwastecollectionisdonebytheonlyprivatewastemanagementcompany(ZoomlionGhana Limited)within themunicipality. The study found out that apart fromregulating the services of the private company, there are employees at the assembly,responsible for cleaning the streets and de‐silting gutters, but are not involved in thedisposalof thewasteto the finaldisposalsite.Theseaccounts for theremaining10‐15%wastecollectionservices,providedwithinthemunicipalassembly.

The study also revealed that the municipality practices two forms of waste collection,which are the door‐to door and the communal container services. For the door‐to‐doorservice,afeeof10GHSispaidtotheprivatecompanybythehouseholds.Itwasdiscoveredthat unlike the AMA, where the private companies are not paid for managing thecommunity containers site, in the NJMA, the assembly pays the private company formanaging the communal containers. Again in the AMA zone, residents who send theirwaste to the communal container site pay for theirwaste disposal, whiles in the NJMA,residentsdonotpaya fee for theirwastesdisposal,when they send it to the communalcontainersite.Basedonpersonalobservation, fewerwasteswere foundonthestreetsofKoforidua than Accra. Although other factors such as population, level of commercialactivities and public education, might influence the waste disposal on the streets, freedisposalofwastesatthecommunalcontainersitesbythosewhocannotaffordtheservicesof theprivatecompanies,couldcontributeto thecleanlinessof thecity.ThisobservationwassupportedbycommentsfromtheMunicipalOperationsOfficerofZGL,Koforidua;

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“ThereasonKoforiduaiscleanisbecause,apartfromtheprivatewastemanagementcompanyhavinglesspressuretocleanthecity,communalcontainersareplacedatvantagepointstoenablepeopleto

disposeofftheirwastewithoutanycharges”(MunicipalOperationsOfficerofZGL,Koforidua)

Ironically,theMunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficerdidnotsharethesameviewonthefreedisposalofwastebythepeople.Heindicatedthat;

“Thenumberof communal containersshouldnotbe increasebut rather, individualhouseholdwastecollection should be encouraged. This will reduce the burden on the assembly because the morecontainerstheassemblyhas,themoreitpaystheprivatecompanytomanagethem.Itwillalsoreducethe mess at the communal container sites because people would not like to litter their immediateenvironmentbutdon’tcareifthecontainersiteislittered.Peopleclaimtobepoorandcan’taffordtheservicesprovidedbytheprivatewastecompanies,yettheyrechargetheirmobilephoneswithcredits

everyday.Itisthelackofpeople’swillingnesstopayforwasteservicesandnotpoverty”(MunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficer)

ThefinaldisposalsiteoftheNJMAisanaturalexcavationandwasnotconstructedforthedisposalofwaste.ItismanagedbytheassemblyintheNJMA,unliketheAMA,whereallthethree major final disposal sites are managed by the private companies. The study alsoestablishedthat therewasnosortingorproperrecyclingofwaste in thetwoassemblies.Allwastesaredumpedtogetheratthefinaldisposalsite.

Financialresources

From the study, it was realised that the municipality’s sources of funding are fromInternallyGeneratedFunds(IGF).Theseincludelevies,propertyrates,markettollsandfees,licenses,vehicletolls,DistrictAssemblyCommonFund(DACF)andValueAddedTax(VAT).

Humanresources

ThemajorityofworkersintheEnvironmentalHealthandManagementDepartmentofthemunicipalityarelabourers(thosewhosweepthestreetsandotherpublicplacesanddesiltdrains).These employees range from people with no education to people with basiceducational level,which is fromPrimary School to JuniorHigh School. Sanitation guardsarealsoemployedtoassisteachzonalofficerduringtheirhousetohouseinspections.Thetopmanagement level consisted ofworkers from the Schools ofHygiene. The Schools ofHygienearetertiaryinstituitionsestablishedpurposelytotrainenvironmentalhealthandsanitationofficers.CurrentlytheMunicipalitydoesnotemploygraduates,andonehastogothrough the School of Hygiene before being employed at the municipal office. TheMunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficerexplainedthereasonforthistrendofemployment:

“Fornow therearenograduatesemployed to thisdepartment.Onehas togo through theSchoolofHygiene to beemployedhere.This is becausewastemanagement is verypractical,and skills ratherthan only knowledge are required. People from the school of hygiene are trained on how to go for

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house inspections, learn how drains are de­silted, and are actually in contact with the wastes. Forexampleyoucan’tlearnfrombookshowtorideabicycleandsayyouknowhowtorideit.Youhavetorideitandridingisaskill,notknowledgeacquired.Thelocalgovernmentmightemploytheservicesofgraduates when the department is turned in to a waste management department” (MunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficer).

Equipments

Theequipmentsatthedisposalofthemunicipalityincludedapayloader(usedtoremovestuck vehicle), a roll‐on‐roll‐off (used for waste collection), a skip (used for wastecollection)andabulldozer(forspreadingwastesatthefinaldisposalsite).TheMunicipalEnvironmental Health Officer indicated a maximum of two of all these equipments wasenough for the assembly toworkwith, since themajority of theworkwas done by theprivate company. Other equipments also include wheelbarrow, brooms and rakes forcleaningthestreets.Therearealso45communalcontainersintheNJMA.

According to the Municipal Environmental Health Officer, the main challenge for thedepartmentwastheinadequatehumanresources;

“Thereare13zonalcouncilsinthemunicipality.Someofthesecouncilsarebigandanofficercanbeallocatedtooneplace,whichmakes ithectic forthat individualtogo forhousetohouse inspection.Unfortunately, the municipality does not employ people but theMinistry of Local Government. ThenumberofenvironmentalhealthofficerswhograduatefromtheSchoolsofHygieneisusuallyverylow.This low turnout of health officers from the schools has been identified as a national problem andefforts are being made to run some environmental sanitation courses in universities so that more

environmentalofficerscanbeemployed”.(MunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficer,NJMA)

The study also discovered that the age rangeof theworkers for themunicipal assemblywasbetweenfortyandseventy.Someworkershadbeenworkingforthemunicipalityforasfar back as 1973. In fact the sweepers looked weary. Similar observation was made byCointreau‐Levine(1994),whoreportedthatinBogata,theaverageageoftheworkingforcefor thegovernment sectorwas fortyyears,whiles theaverage age for theprivate sectorwork forcewastwenty fiveyears.Furthermore, theyoungerworking force isconsideredmore productive because it is stronger and more cooperative with new management,(ibid).

Myobservationsweresupportedbyoneofthesupervisorswhoindicatedthat;

“Theseareveryoldpeoplewhoneedtogoonretirement.Theyhardlygettheworkdoneproperlyandittakesalongertimeforthemtofinishtheirjobs.Sometimestheydon’tevenfinishtheirassignedtaskbut go ahead and do their private works, by collecting waste from individuals, whom they chargebetween20pesewas­1GHS.Sincetheyareold,youcan’tinstructthemallthetime;youhavetorespect

them”(SupervisoratNJMA)

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Somesweeperswerepoorlydressedanddidnothaveanyprotectiveclotheson.Theyworkbetweenthehoursof4am‐10am.Theyreceivedpaymentsbetween50‐200GHSpermonth.Theworkers also complainedof not having uniforms, facialmask and sometimes had tobuytheirownbrooms.Oneoftheirpressingneedswasaccesstoraincoats,sincetheyworkevenwhenitisraining.Asweeperindicatedthat;

“It takes some time for the assembly to provide us with broomswhenwe complain our brooms arespoilt. Since we have to work whether the brooms are made available by the assembly or not, wesometimesusethelittlemoneywearepaidtobuybroomsinordertowork.Whenitrains,ourworkbecomesmoredifficultbecausewedon’thaveraincoatstoprotectus fromtherains.Yet,wehaveto

worksothatpeopledon’tcomplainthestreetsaredirty”(SweeperatNJMA).

D.EnvironmentalProtectionAgency(EPA)

According to the ESP, 2010, the EPA in collaboration with the Waste ManagementDepartment or the EnvironmentHealth andManagementDepartment of the assemblies,shall be responsible for the monitoring and enforcing environmental standards andregulationssetbytheEPAandothernationalregulationagencies,(ESP,2010).TheEPAistheregulatorybodyinwastemanagementofGhana.AninterviewwiththeActingHeadofthe Built Environment, EPA, revealed that, in the area of solid waste management, theagency’s role is tomonitor and regulate activities of the final disposal sites. The agencypreparestechnicalguidelinesforthemetropolitan,municipalanddistrictassembliestobeeffective in their waste management activities (EPA, 2010). It was also discovered thatthereareonlytwoengineeredlandfillsitesinthecountry,locatedinKumasiandTamale.The remaining disposal sites are improved dump sites, (dump sites with minimalengineering operations),where ordinary dumping is practiced. As theActingHead, BuiltEnvironment,EPA,highlights;

“These improved dump sites are mostly old quarried sites or borrowed pits, which the assemblies,

formerlyinchargeoffinalwastedisposalsites,founditconvenienttofillwithwastes”(ActingHead,BuiltEnvironmentDepartment,EPA)

Ifanoldquarrysite is tobeusedasadumpsite,approvalhastobegivenbytheEPA.Adetailedmanagementplan,showinghowthesiteofoperationisgoingtobemanagedhastobeprepared,whilesadecommissioningplan,detailingmeasurestobeputinplacehastobesubmittedtotheEPA,duringtheclosureofadumpsite(InterviewwiththeActingHead,BuiltEnvironmentDepartment,EPA).Hehoweverindicatedthat;

In practise however, these requirements are hardly done, with the excuse of not having adequate

resources(ActingHead,BuiltEnvironmentDepartment,EPA)

Oteng‐Ababio (2010), reports that in the AMA zone, the public sector remains the soleoperatorofdump‐sites.Thisishoweverincontradictionwiththefindingsofthisstudy,as

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itwasdiscoveredthatthethreemajorwastedisposaldump‐siteslocatedatSaba,Gbawe,and Abokobi within the AMA zone, are managed by the private waste managementcompanies.Apersonalobservationmadeduringvisits to the threemajor landfill sites inAccra, showed ongoing construction of houses, and some commercial activities (foodvendors especially) around the dumpsites. Oteng‐Ababio (2010), indicated that thedumpsitesareaviolationofexistingsanitarylaws,andyetthesearetolerated,duetolackofproperlandfills.ThisisinlinewiththeresponseoftheActingHead,BuiltEnvironmentDepartment of EPA, regarding sanctions given to private companies, who are notcomplyingwiththeguidelinesforproperlandfillsitemanagement.Heindicated;

“Inregulations,itisgoodtoapplysanctions.Thereareseveraltoolssuchasselfregulation(wherethecompany will understand from its own point of view that it pays to do the right thing), dialogue(regular interactionsas towhy theyhave todowhat theyare being told to do)and the lastoptionwhich ishardly used is the commandand control (when thingsarenot inorder, the companiesarewritten to, and the appropriate authorities like the Ministry of Environment and Science areinformed.).Theoptionoftenusedhereisthedialoguebecauseif forexampleacompanyissanctionednottodumpwastesatthedumpsite for floutinga rule,wherearetheygoingtodumpthatwastes?”(ActingHead,BuiltEnvironmentDepartment,EPA)

Fig.7.Asmokyfinaldisposalsite,showingproximityoffinaldisposalsitetohouses(Theauthor,2010)

Again similar observations were made at the New Juaben Municipal Assembly (NJMA),where the land fill site was not constructed for the purpose of disposing waste. Aninterview with both the Municipal Environmental Health Officer and Principal ProgramOfficer of the EPA,NJMA, indicated that the final disposal sitewas a natural excavation,which the assembly thought appropriate to fill with waste; no Environmental Impact

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Assessment (EAI) was done before the place was used as a dump‐site. The PrincipalProgramOfficeroftheEPA,NJMA,indicatedthat;

“........thecurrentdisposalsiteforthemunicipalitywasclosetotheDensuRiver,whichservedasamainsourceofwater to themunicipalityand surrounding towns.Due to lackofaccess to land forwaste

disposal, nothing has been done about it for some time now” (Principal ProgramOfficer of theEPA,NJMA)

However, according to the Principal ProgramOfficer of the EPA, NJMA, the assembly incollaborationwiththeEPAarenowfindinganewsiteforwastedisposal.Factorssuchaslack of access to land and lack of logistics makes enforcement of sanctions even morecomplicated.

4.3.2PrivateFormalWasteManagementCompanies

A.ZoomlionGhanaLimited

Zoomlion Ghana Limited, which is the fastest growing waste management company inGhanawasestablishedin2006.IthasofficesinallthetenregionsofGhana.Itsmissionistobecomea leadingenvironmentalsanitationserviceprovider,byusingsimplebutmoderntechnologyandmethodsofwastemanagementat affordableandcompetitive rates (ZGL,2010).Apartfromthecollectionofwaste,thecompanyalsoprovidesservicessuchaspestcontrol,public cleansing, containermanufacture,beautificationand landscapingand landfill management. Out of the eleven sub metros in the AMA, Zoomlion Ghana Limitedoperates in threeof theAMAzones. In theNJMA,ZGL is theonlyprivatewastecompanyoperatinginthemunicipality(ZGL,2010).

Wastecollectionanddisposal

InAccra, thecompanyoperateson franchisebasis,whiles ithasa fiveyearcontractwiththeassemblyinKoforidua.Customersprovidedwith‘free’binsforthedoor‐to‐doorserviceare charged a monthly fee of 14GHS, 10GHS and 3.3GHS for the high income earners,middle and low income earners respectively in Accra. However, a general service fee of10GHSispaidbycustomersinKoforidua.The‘free’3litterbinsprovidedbythecompanytohouseholdsistoencouragethemstoretheirwasteinthesebins.Theconceptofpayingforwaste collection is new to these households,making some adamant in practising it. Thecompany provides services to households, commercial, industrial and government

3 ‘Free’: thebinsgivenarenot freebecausetheyare includedinthecollectionfee,butacustomerdoesnotdirectlypayforthebinwhenitsignsthecontractwiththecompany.

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institutions.ThestudyestablishedthatinKoforidua,approximately3072tonnesofwasteisdisposedpermonth,which is97‐98%ofwastegenerated,whiles theamountofwastedisposed in Accra per month is 12000‐18000 tonnes, by the company. Duringtransportationofthewaste,thevehiclesarecoveredwithacoveringmaterial(net)tomeettherequirementoftheEPAandavehicleroutineisdesignedtoreducetheamountoffuelconsumption.InAccra,thereweretwodisposalsitesbeingmanagedbythecompany;oneatSaba(anoldquarrysite)andtheotheratAbokobi.However,inKoforidua,theassemblymanages thedump‐site,where the companydisposesoff itswastes. At the finaldisposalsite, waste trucks empty the waste into the landfill and a bulldozer spreads it. Limitedcoveringisdoneduetohighcostandlackofcoveringmaterial

Financialresourcesofthecompany

Sourcesof fundingof the company include service fees fromcustomersandgovernment(for managing the National Youth Employment Program). In Koforidua, the companyobtains its funding from the assembly, by managing the communal container sites andworkers of the NYEP. However in Accra the company’s sources of funding are fromhouseholdsand the communal container sites.At the communal container sites inAccra,thecompanyhasgiventhecommunalcontainersites toothersubcontractors tomanage,wheretheychargethesesubcontractors50GHSperliftofacontainer.AsindicatedbytheOperationsmanager

“Most of the financial institutions arewilling to do businesswith the company, since it’s the fastestgrowingwastecompanyinthecountry”(OperationsManager,ZGL)

Humanresources

The employees at the company are in the range ofDoctor of Philosophy (PhD),MastersDegree,BachelorsDegree,HigherNationalDiploma(HND)holders(this isadegree forapolytechnicstudent),Technicians,Mechanics,SeniorHighSchool(SHS),JuniorHighSchooland people with no education (these are usually the labourers). There are intermittenttraining programs on road safety, environmental, sanitation and hygiene issues, for thecleaners,driversand janitors.Diversandcleanersareprovidedwithprotective clothing,nosemaskandgloves.

Equipments

Equipmentsusedforthewastecollectionincludeskiptrucks(forcollectingwastefromthecommunal container sites), roll‐on‐roll‐off (for collecting waste from the communalcontainer sites), bulldozer(for spreadingwaste at the final disposal site), compactor(forhouse tohousewaste collection), tricycles(for transportingwaste fromthe streets to thecommunal container sites), wheelbarrows(for transporting wastes to the communal

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container sites) and the ‘borla taxis’(these are vehicles used for waste collection atinaccessibleareas).Apartfromthetricycleswhicharemadetosuitthelocalcondition,therestofthemachinesareimported,(ZGL,2010).Mostoftheequipmentswereimportedandtheycomein‘knocked‐down’4forms,whicharethenassembledbytheworkers.Thereasonwhymostof theequipmentsare importedwasattributedtothe fact that therewerenotenough raw materials in the country to manufacture the equipments. Also the localmanufacturercannotprovidethequantityofequipmentsneededfor theamountofwork(InterviewwiththeEasternRegionalDirector,ZGL)

Fig.8.Equipmentusedinsolidwastecollection(Theauthor,2010)

Motivationforworkers

Driversinbothcitiesconfirmedreceivingabagofrice(5kg)andcookingoilattheendofeverymonthandtoiletriesforeverytwomonths.Janitors,whoassistthedriversduringthewastecollectiongetmonthlypaymentof83GHS.Thesweepersalsoget5kgbagofriceandcookingoilattheendoftheyear.AccesstoZoomcredit,whichareloansgiventoworkersatlowerratesisalsomadeavailable.AsindicatedbytheEasternRegionalDirectorofZGL;

“Morepeoplearebeingattractedintowastemanagementasitservesasasourceofemploymentand

incomegenerationforthem”(EasternRegionalDirector,ZGL)

4Knockeddown:vehiclepartsareimportedandtheyareassembledbythecompany

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NationalYouthEmploymentProgram(NYEP)underZoomlionGhanaLimited.

TheNYEP is an initiative by theGovernmentof Ghana,where people are employed intovarious sectors of the economy. Currently, Zoomlion Ghana Limited is the only privatewastemanagement company thatmanages those employed into thewastemanagementsector.Thegovernmentpaysthecompany,amanagementfee.TheNYEPworkersincludesweepers,who sweep the streets and other public places, desilt gutters and transfer thewaste to the communal container sites. Thewomenusually do the sweeping,whiles themendesilttheguttersandtransferthewastetothecommunalcontainersites.TheyworkfromMonday–SaturdayandsometimesonSundays.Theyworkonholidaysandreceive50GHSattheendofthemonth.

“Theyworkbetweenthehoursof3amand10am.Theideabehindthisprogramistoprovideasourceofemploymentforemployersonpart­timebasissothattheycanusetherestofthedayto indulgein

otheroccupationsiftheyhaveany”,(MunicipalOperationsSupervisor,ZGL).

B.J.StanleyOwusuGroupofCompanies(JSOGC)

The company was established on the 11th of July, 1964 and incorporated on the 4th ofFebruary, 1970.The study discovered that services provided by the company includedwastecollectionfromhousetohouse,industriesandhospitals.Thecompanyprovidessolidwastecollectionservicesfor6000households,100industriesand40hospitals.Theycoverthe Okaikoi South sub metro. The households are charged a general fee of 10 GHS permonth. The household collection is done once a week, but with the commercialinstituitions, collection is dependent onwhen the container is full. The amountofwasteproducedperdayisnotknownduetotheabsenceofaweighbridge5atthefinaldisposalsite.ThecompanymanagesthethirdmajordisposalsiteatGbawe.

Financialresourcesofthecompany

It was established that the company’s main source of funding was from the services itprovidedtothehouseholdsandthecommercialinstituitions.

5Weighbridge:agadgetusedtomeasuretheamountofwaste.Thewastetruckpassesoverthebridgeatthedisposalsites.Thetotalweightofbothvehicleandwastesaremeasuredandsincetheweightofthevehicleisalreadyknown, it isdeducted fromthetotalweightofboththevehicle andthewastetoget theamountofwastescarriedbythevehicle

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Humanresourcesofthecompany

Theworkersemployedincludelabourers,drivers,mechanics,technicians,HigherNationalDiploma(HND)holdersanduniversitygraduates.AstheOperationsmanagerindicated:

“The workers are not given training programs due to inadequate funds” (Operationsmanager,JSOGC).

Equipmentsofthecompany

Thestudyalsodiscoveredthat,therewerecurrently4skips,7compactorsand6roll‐on‐roll‐off.Ofthe4skips,2arebrokendownandofthe6roll‐on‐roll‐off,3arebrokendown

C.LibertyWasteLimited

LibertyWasteLimited6isoneoftheprivatewastemanagementcompanieslocatedwithinAccra. The areas assigned to the company are Dansoman, Mamprobi and Chokor. Thecompanyprovides servicesmainly tohouseholds. It charges ageneral feeof10GHSperhouseholdpermonth.

Financialresourcesofthecompany

Thecompany’smainsourceoffundingistheservicefeefromthehouseholds,commercialinstituitionsandloansfromthebanks.

Equipmentsavailabletocompany

The equipments available to the company included a dump truck, a skip truck and acompactor.

Humanresources

Theworkersemployedincludelabourers,drivers,mechanics,technicians,HigherNationalDiploma(HND)holdersanduniversitygraduates.

CHALLENGESFACINGTHEPRIVATECOMPANIES

Wastesmanagementhasalwaysbeenseenasthesoleresponsibilityofthestatesincethecolonial times. According to the ESP, 2010, the bulk of environmental services shall be6AccesstodataforLibertyWasteCompany,oneoftheprivatewastemanagementcompanies,wasdifficultastheinterviewwiththemanagerwasdisruptedandtherewasnochancetointerviewheragain.Alsotherewaslimitedinformationontheinternetregardingthiswastemanagementcompany.

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providedbytheprivatecompaniesandthesecompaniesfacenumerouschallengeswhenitcomestotheiroperations.Theseareelaboratedbelow:

Financialaspect

The study revealed that, one of themajor challenges, confronting the private companieswere thenon‐paymentof the servicesby the clients.As theEastern regionaldirectorofZGL,indicated;

“Somehouseholdshavestillnotcometounderstandingpayingfortheirwastedisposal,whichresults

innon­paymentoftheservicesprovidedbythecompany”(Easternregionaldirector,ZGL).

Anotherchallengewasthedelayinpaymentbythegovernment.BoththeEasternregionaldirectorandtheOperationsmanagerofZGLiteratedthat;

“One of the major main financial problems is the delay in payment by the government” (EasternregionaldirectorandtheOperationsmanagerofZGL)

InAccra, theAMAused topay theprivatewaste contractors for serviceprovision.Whenthe Fee and Performance Based Solid Waste Collection Program (FPBSWCP) wasintroduced, the private waste companies were solely responsible for their revenuegeneration. However, the previous services provided to the assembly by some of theprivate companies had not even been paid. The OperationsManager of JSOGC indicatedthat;

“Sincetheintroductionofthe(FPBSWCP)bytheassembly,alltheservicesprovidedbythecompanyto

theassemblyforoneandhalfyearshavestillnotbeenpaid”(OperationsManager,JSOGC).

Schubeler,WehrleandChristen(1996),notedthat,theprivatecompaniesareusuallylessmotivated to provide services in low income areas if they depend directly on the usercollectionfees.Inviewofthisthereislessmotivationtowork,asthecompaniesaresolelydependentonthepaymentfromcustomers,unlikepreviouslyreceivingpaymentsfromthegovernment.

Equipmentavailabilityandusage

The study showed that one of the biggest problems faced by service providers inwastemanagement is theunavailabilityofboth locallymadeand importedequipments.Duringinterviews with the private companies, it was revealed that equipments used for solidwaste management are imported and notmade to suit local conditions. The operationsmanagerofJSOGCindicatedthat;“Thenumberofequipmentswehavearenotenoughandalsonot inthebestshape,sotheykeepon

breakingdown”(OperationsManager,JSOGC)

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Inviewofthat,theUNsuggeststhat;

‘The appropriate equipments that can be locallymaintained should be used in solid wastemanagement;justasitisamusingtopictureacyclerickshawcollectingwasteinAdelaide,itisridiculoustosendagiantcompactortruckdesignedforAustralianroadsintothelanesoftheoldcityinDhaka,orevenontothemainroadswhichhavenotbeendesignedforsuchhighaxleloadingrates’(UNHABITAT,2010)

TheMunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficeropinedthat;

“Since the heavy machinery cannot be produced in the country, the best solution will be theimportationofspecialonesmadetosuitourlocalconditions,whichmightbemoreexpensivebutwilllastlonger”(MunicipalEnvironmentalHealthOfficer,NJMA).

Humanresources

In terms of human resources, all the waste management companies indicated that theproblemwasnotthenumberofindividuals,butratherthelackofskillswhenitcomestowastemanagement.TheEasternRegionalDirectorstatedthat;

Most people are generally trained in Environmental sciences and end up working with wastecompanies,(EasternRegionaldirector,ZGL)

TheOperationsmanagerofZGL,Accraalsoindicatedthat;

“.............there are new trends in the waste management, like biogas production and production ofwastetoenergy,whichneedsthetrainingofpeople inordertoenterintothatventure”(OperationsmanagerofZGL)

Inviewoftheevolvementofthesenewtrendsinwastemanagement,ZGLincollaborationwithDANIDA (Danish InternationalAgencyDevelopment)and theUniversityofWesternOntarioisbuildingtheGhanaWasteManagementInstitute,whichwillbeinoperationfrom2011,(ZGL,2010).Thiswillgoalongwaytohelpthecountrybecausetherearehardlyanytertiaryinstituitionswithspecificwastemanagementcourses.

Health,socialconditionandlowsalariesofworkers

WhenitcomestoSWM,priorityisusuallyputonthepublicwithlittleornoconsiderationto the health of thewasteworkers themselves. AsWhiteman, Smith andWilson, (2001)stated intheirreport, theoccupationalhealthandsafetyrisktosolidwasteworkersandwastepickers is also amajor concern.As statedbyBhuiyan (2010), sweepers and truckdrivers are key actors in service delivery, when it comes to solid waste in Bangladesh,which isnodifferent inGhana.Outof the46 of the sweepers interviewed inboth cities,only3wenttothehospitalregularly(whichisonly7%ofthetotalnumberofthepeople

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interviewed); they were with the believe that God is the one who protects them fromsickness.AsoneoftheNYEPworkersindicated:“Ihardlygotothehospital,butmyGodinheavenprotectsmefromallkindsofseriousillness.Ionlygetsevere

headacheandfeverfromtimetotime,butapartfromthatamveryhealthy”(NYEPworker).On thehealth issue, theUN indicateswasteworkersareexposedconstantly to risksandtheir injury rate is evenhigher than industrialwork. It ishigher indeveloping countriesduetoinadequatefinancialresources,aswellaslackofunderstandingofthemagnitudeoftherisktotheirhealth,(UNHabitat,2010).Fromthestudy,itwasconfirmedthatmajorityof theworkers complained of having frequent fever. Both drivers and sweepersworkedfromMondaytoSaturday.ThesweepershoweversometimesworkedonSundays,leavingthemverylittleornotimetogotothehospital.Thisisnotgoodfortheirhealthastheyareconstantlyincontactwiththewaste.TheworkersalsowantedsomedaysoffandprovisionoftheNationalHealthInsuranceScheme(NHIS)7bythegovernmenttotakecareofthemwhentheyaresick,sincetheirworkinvolvesdirt,puttingthematrisktovariousdiseases.Workersalsocomplainedofthequalityofthedresses,gloves,facialmaskandbootsgiventothemandthe frequencyatwhichthesethingswereprovided.Alsoofconcerntothemwasprovisionofraincoats.Someoftheworkerswerenotusingthefacialmask,glovesandothersanitationequipments,whichtheyclaimedwereuncomfortable.Infactwearingoneofthefacialmaskswhencleaningthestreetswasveryuncomfortableformeandtheygeteasily dirty. Other workers also sold their working materials for money. SimilarobservationwasmadebytheUNasitassertsthatmanywasteworkersprefertoselltheirgloves, shoes and special clothes, in exchange for money (UN Habitat, 2010). Based onpersonalobservation, thegeneralconditionsof theprivatecompanyworkersweremuchbetter than the governmentworkers and they hadmore sanitation equipments than thegovernmentworkers.Accordingto(Anschütz,1996)thesalaryofwastecollectorsisoftenlowand this is asa resultof their lowstatus.Asmentionedearlier, the cleanersand thedrivers of the waste companies received salaries between 50‐150 GHS permonth. Thisreflectedonthenumberofmaleworkerstofemaleworkers;thenumberofmenworkingwaslessthanthewomen.Thereasongivenwasthat: “Therearemorewomenthanmenaswastecleanersbecausemenareusuallythebreadwinnersofthefamily.Sincetheamountofmoneytheyreceiveissmall,theycannotdependonthatastheirsourceofincome.Women,usuallyplaysupportiverolesinthefamily,andcanaffordtosupporttheirhusbands

withlittleincome”(NYEPworker).

7TheNHIS isahealth insurancesystemwhereGhanaianspayasmallamountofmoneyat theendofyear,enabling residents toobtainbasichealthcare serviceswithoutpayingmoneyat thepointofdeliveryof theservice.Thishas replaces the cash and carry system thatwaspreviously inplaceand it covers95%of allmedicalconcerns.

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AsLundhighlights,thewaymenandwomenlivewithinaspecificsocietyisdeterminedbythe culture, economic, social and political structures of the society (Lund 1993, cited inOnyanta,2007).IntheGhanaianculture,amanisseenastheheadofthefamilyandhastheresponsibility of providing for the family whiles the woman plays a supporting role inmanagingthehome.

Irregularitiesincontractarrangement

AstudyconductedbyOteng‐Ababio,(2010),showedthatmostofthecontractswithintheAMAwereawardedthecontractswithoutdueprocess.Thisisinlinewiththeresultsofthisstudy as it revealed that, for example there was no contract signed between the AccraMetropolitanAssembly(AMA)andtheJSOGCforsolidwastecollection.AMemorandumofUnderstanding (MOU), whichmandates a private company to provide services to a submetro, by registering the people and collecting thewaste, had neither been signed. Theoperationsmanagerindicatedthat;

TherewasaverbalagreementbetweentheAMAandthecompany,withtheunderstandingthatafterthreemonths, the agreementwill be reviewed and a proper contractwill be done but that had notbeendone(Operationsmanager,JSOGC)

Althoughnocontracthadbeensigned,workwasstillinprogress.Theeffectofthiskindofarrangementwas that, itmade access to loan difficult, since there should be a proof ofcontractwhengoingforloansfromthebanks.

Perceptionofpeopleonwastemanagement

Anothermajor concern thatwas raised by theworkers, were people’s perception aboutwaste management, especially when it comes to waste disposal. One of the sweeperscomplainedthat;

“Whenyouaskpeoplenottodisposetheirwastesonthestreets,theytellyouthatiftheydon’tdothat,howwillyougetajobtodo?”(NYEPworker)

Atruckdriveralsocomplainedthat;

“People can’t dissociate us from thewastes and disrespect us. They thinkwe are part of thewaste.Evenwithinthesamecompany,thedriverofthemanagerthinksheismoreimportantthanusbecausehedoesnotdriveawastetruck.Withoutus,therewillbenocollectionofwasteandyet,wearetreatedasnothing”(Awastetruckdriver)

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Althoughsomeof thetopofficialsof thecompaniesclaimed, there isnostigmatisationofwasteworkersasitwaspreviouslydone,thedriversandsweepersdidnotsharethesameviews.Atruckdriverindicatedthat;

“Thereisstillstigmatizationifyouarea‘bola’8worker.Somepeopledon’tevenwanttoeatwithyouoncetheygettoknowyouworkwithwaste.WhatcanIdo?It’smyjobandIhavetodoitinordertogetsomethingtoeatattheendofthemonth”(Awastetruckdriver)

Thedriverssometimeshadproblemswithclientsbecauseclientsareexpectedtoput thewasteoutsidetheirhomesbutsomeclientsdon’t.Aspartoftheirworkingethics,driversarenotexpectedtoenterclients’homes.Thismakestheworkofthedriversmoredifficult.Also,basedonpersonalobservation,someoftheclientsoverfilledtheirfreebinsandputmorewastes in big polythene bags. This made the drivers’ workmore than their usualroutine,astheyhadtogotothelandfillsiteoncetheirtrucksgetfullandyethadtofinishthatparticularschedulefortheday.Afocusgroupdiscussionwiththedriversandcleanersof the waste management companies revealed that, there was a need formore drivers,cleanersandtrucksforwastecollection.

Politicalinfluenceinsolidwastemanagement

Politicsplayaveryvitalrole in thewastemanagementof thecountry.An interviewwithone of the private waste management companies revealed that, the distribution ofdesignatedareaswas influencedbyone’spolitical affiliation.Oneof themanagersof theprivatecompaniesindicated;

Thesizeofanareathat isgiventoawastecompanyisverymuchdependentonthekindofpoliticalpartyinpower. Ifasacompany,yourpartyisnotinpower,youareassignedasmallareatooperate(ManagerofLWL).

Alsopeoplearequitereluctantinpayingforwasteservices,especiallywhentheywerenotpaying any charges when a previous government was in power. One of the sanitationguardsintheNewJuabenMunicipalAssemblystatedthat:

“People complain when charged for waste disposal and always mention that when the previousgovernmentwasinpower,theywerenotpayinganychargesonwastedisposalbutnowtheyhavetopay.Asaresultthiscanaffectthevotesoftheincumbentgovernmentanditcandecidenottocharge

anytariffforwastedisposal”,(Sanitationguard,NJMA)

Alsothepoliticianswouldliketopleasethepeopleinordertowintheirvotes.Asanitationguardnarratedthat;

8Bolaworkerissomeonewhoworkswithwaste

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“......during the distribution of bins by a private company, an assemblymanmentioned that the binsbeingdistributedtothepeoplewerefromthegovernment(theassemblymanmentioningthiscanearnhimsomevotesduringanelection).Thisleadtosomeclientsthinkingthat,thewasteservicesprovidedby the private waste company should be done without charges. It caused confusion between someclients and the waste management companies, as the clients were expecting to receive services

withoutcharges”,(Sanitationguard,NJMA).

Politiciansarenotheldaccountable for speechesmadeon their campaignplatforms, andthereforetheymakepromiseswhichtheycannotfulfilduringsuchspeeches.

4.3.3PrivateInformalwastecollectorsAlthough not mentioned in the policy, it is imperative to highlight the role of privateinformal waste collectors in waste management. Motivated by the need for subsistenceactivities, potential income generation and survival, (Lardinois, and van de Klundert,1995), the informalwaste collectors contribute enormously to solidwastemanagement,especially in low incomecountries.A studyconductedby theUN in ten lowandmiddle‐income countries showed that, in urban waste systems, the informal collection andrecyclingsectorprovidesalivelihoodforanaverageof0.5%oftheurbanpopulation,(UNHabitat, 2010). This study revealed that, informalwaste collection served as a source ofemployment.Oneofthewastecollectorsindicatedthat;

“People think this job is very filthy,and that’sall they see, but there ismoney inwaste”,(Informalwastecollector).

They usually go for 4‐5trips per day on their wooden trucks, charging a fee between20pesewas ‐5GHS from the individual households,market places and the lorry stations,dependingontheamountofwaste.Thestudy revealedthat, inAccra, the informalwastecollectorswerechargeda feeof1‐4GHSfordumpingwastesat thecommunalcontainersites. The container sites were managed by individuals, hired by a private company tocollectthedumpingfees.However,theinformalwastecollectorsinKoforiduadidnotpayfees for dumpingwastes into the communal containers, but charged their customers forwaste collection services. It was quite difficult getting the informal waste collectors tointerviewsincetheywerenotingroups.Mostofthemweremetatthecommunalcontainersite, repairing their trucks, dumping their wastes or just taking a break from the day’swork. They hardly went to the hospital and depended on God for good health. It wasdiscovered thatmajorityof thewaste collectorspreferredalternative jobs,whilesotherswantedtoimproveuponwhattheywerecurrentlydoing.Othersalsowantedtodootherjobs and collect the wastes in the evening, after their normal work. Based on personalobservation, the informal waste collectors in both Accra and Koforidua were poorlydressedandhardlyhadanyprotectiveclothing.AsSchubeler,WehrleandChristen,(1996)

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pointout,compelledtoworkaswastecollectorsorscavengersasaresultofpovertyorlackof employment, the informal waste collectors usually work under very unhygienicconditionsanddiscriminatedbythepublicwhoviewtheiractivitytobefilth‐related.

Fig.9.Informalwastecollectors(Theauthor,2010)

Theinformalwastecollectorsalsopointedoutthat,peopleridiculethemanddon’twanttoassociatethemselveswiththemasaresultoftheirwork.

“Peoplethinkamdirtybecauseofmyworkanddonotwanttoassociatewithme,butthatisthe job

thatfeedsmeandmyfamily”(Informalwastecollector)

However,theyindicatedthatthingsarechangingwiththeinceptionoftheprivatecompanyaspeople’sperceptionsofwastesarechanging.Theirmainchallengewastheirinabilitytoformassociationstoaccessloansfromthebanks.

5.0ConclusionandRecommendationFindingsfromthisresearchhaveshownthat,althoughtherehasbeensomeimprovementin the solid waste sector, there remains a gap between policy and practice. A majorstrengthoftheEnvironmentalSanitationPolicy(ESP,2010)ofGhanaisthatithasclearlyspeltouttherolesofthevariousactors.Thisreducesthepreviousproblemsofoverlappingof responsibilities of actors and duplication of tasks. Nevertheless, there are still manychallenges when it comes to managing solid waste in the two study areas that were

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considered for the study.While, there is amultiplicity of actors involved in solidwastemanagementingeneralandintheformulationofthepolicyinparticular,thisstudyfocusedmainlyontwomajorstakeholders:stateinstitutionsandtheprivatesector.Inadditiontotimeconstraints,thejustificationforchoosingthetwoactorsisthattheyplayedthemostprominentrolesintheformulationofthepolicy.Theincreasingroleoftheprivatesectordoesnotmeanthestateisnolongeranimportantactor.AsstipulatedintheESPandinlinewith the global norms of governance, the state is expected to play the crucial role of aregulator.Howeverthestudyrevealedthatthestatefaceschallenges.Inadequatefinancialand limited human resources are major examples. These problems have negativeimplications for the capacityof the state. It isone thing toproduceapolicy,butanotherthing is to be able to implement it. As the case of Zoomlion demonstrates,while privatesectorparticipationinsolidwastemanagementisontheincrease,thisoutcomehaslargelycomeaboutthroughtheeffortsoftheprivatecompaniesthemselvessincethegovernmentis yet toprovidean enablingenvironment forprivate investments and involvement.Thepolicygaveaprominentrole to theprivate sector.Asdocumented inthis study, in someareas, theprivate companieshave the soleresponsibility for theprovisionof solidwasteservices.Followingtheglobalnormofprioritizingtheroleoftheprivatesector,therearesignsthatprivatecompaniesarerenderingmoreservicesthanbefore.However,thereisnoobviousevidencethatmuchconsiderationwasgiventothecapacityofprivatecompaniesbefore and during the policy formulation process. The private waste managementcompanies contracted by the government are faced with challenges that need to beaddressedtoensurethattheyperformtheirrolesasstatedinthepolicy.Majorchallengesidentified relate to finance and equipment. Beyond these, the sector is facedwith otherproblems such as the unwillingness of clients to pay for services; the failure of thegovernment to pay the companies promptly for services rendered; political influence;negative perception of people on waste management; irregularities in contractarrangement;poorhealthandsocialconditionsandlowsalariesofworkers.ItisnecessarytoemphasizethattheseproblemsidentifiedinthisstudyarenotindeeduniquetoGhana.However, it is still important to conductanempirical studyof this type, since thenatureand magnitude of the problems, the solutions, as well as priorities differ within andbetweencountriesandcities.

Another observation worth pointing out is that, whiles the informal waste actors playimportantgapfillingfunctionssuchasrecycling,thepolicygavenoconsiderationtotheirviewsorhowpolicyprovisions could impact their activities.Thegovernment couldhaveinvolvedinformalsectoractorsthroughtheirassociations.Beyondthis,thefindingsofthestudysuggestthatthegovernmentshouldhaveback‐upplansoralternativearrangementsin areas, where there is total privatisation, as the private sector could collapse. Finally,whilethisisnotacomparativestudy,researchingonthetwostudyareassimultaneously,yieldedinterestingresults.Basedonthefindings,itwasrealizedthatverylittlestudyhad

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beendoneonminorcitiessuchasKoforiduaandthereforeaccesstoinformationwasquitedifficult. There should be more studies on such cities as they equally reveal interestingresults.Inaddition,thereisstilltheneedforcomparativestudiessincetheyhavetheaddedadvantageofagreaterunderstandingofthecomplexitiesofaproblem,inthiscase,policyformulationand implementation insolidwastemanagement.Thiscanhelp in identifyingnotjustsolutions,butalsowhatworksandwhatdoesnotinspecificconditions.

REFERENCESAhmeda S. A., Ali M. (2004). ‘Partnerships for solid waste management in developingcountries:Linkingtheoriestorealities’.HabitatInternational,vol28.pp467‐479

Adama, O. (2007), Governing from Above, Solid Waste Management in Nigeria’s NewCapitalCityofAbuja.Adoctorialthesis,submittedtotheStockholmUniversity,Sweden.

Anku, S. E. K. (2000), 18th Session of the United Nations Commission on SustainableDevelopment, National Report for Ghana, Waste Management in Ghanahttp://www.un.org/esa/dsd/dsd_aofw_ni/ni_pdfs/NationalReports/ghana/Anku_SCD_Waste%20Mgt%5B1%5D.pdfaccessedon27‐11‐2010.

AnschützJ.(1996)Community‐BasedSolidWasteManagementandWaterSupplyProjects:Problems and Solutions Compared, A survey of the literature, Urban Waste ExpertiseProgram,CommunityParticipationinWasteManagement,UWEPWorkingDocument2.AtkinsonP and HammersleyM. (2007), Ethnography; principles in practice. 3rd edition.LondonandNewYork:Routledge,TaylorandFrancisGroup.BennettJ.CandHowlettM.(1992),TheLessonsofLearning:Reconcilingtheoriesofpolicylearning and policy change. Policy Sciences, vol 25,pp 275‐294.Kluwer AcademicPublishers,Netherlands.Bhuiyan, S. H. (2010), ‘A crisis in governance: Urban solid waste management inBangladesh’.HabitatInternationalJournal,vol.34,pp125‐133.

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Boadi O.K. and Kuitunen M. (2004), Municipal Solid Waste Management in the AccraMetropolitan Area, Ghana, the Environmentalist, vol. 23, pp 211–218. Kluwer AcademicPublishers,Netherlands.Clarke,T.andClegg,S.,(1998),ChangingParadigms:theTransformationofManagementKnowledgeforthe21stCentury.HarperCollins,LondonCooperativeHousingFoundationInternational(2009),http://www.chfinternationalghana.org/.Accessedon03‐04‐2011Cointreau‐LevineS.(1994),PrivateSectorParticipationinMunicipalSolidWasteServicesin Developing Countries, Vol. 1,The formal sector. UNDP/UNCHS/World Bank. UrbanManagementProgram,WorldBank,WashingtonD.CCowen T. (2008),"Public Goods" The Concise Encyclopaedia of Economics, Library ofEconomics and Liberty, http://www.econlib.org/library/Enc/PublicGoods.html .Accessedon03‐02‐2011

DavisP.(1986),‘WhyPartnership?WhyNow?’inDavis,P.(ed.)PublicPrivatePartnership:Improving urban life, The Academy of Political Science and New York City Partnership,NewYork.DunsireA.(1978a),TheExecutionProcessVol.1:ImplementationinaBureaucracy.Oxford:MartinRobertson.EnvironmentalSanitationPolicyofGhana,(2010)GhanaStatisticalService,(2005),Ghanainfigures.http://www.statsghana.gov.gh/docfiles/Ghana%20in%20Figures.pdf.Accessedon02‐01‐2011GeologicalSurveyDepartment,(2010)Grimble R. and Wellard K. (1997). ‘Stakeholder Methodologies in Natural ResourceManagement:a Review of Principles,Contexts,Experiences and Opportunities’.ElsevierScienceLtd.vol55.pp173‐193

HillsM.andHupeP.(2002)ImplementingPublicPolicy,SagePublicationsLtdHogwood,B.WandPetersB.G.(1983).Policydynamics,Brighton:WheatsheafBooksJames P., Ghobadian A., Viney H., Liu J. (1999). ‘Addressing the divergence betweenenvironmental strategy formulation and implementation’.Management Decision Journal.Vol.37/4,pp338‐347

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KirondeJ.M.L.(1999)‘DaresSalaam,Tanzania’InAdepojuG.Onibokun(ed.)ManagingtheMonster; Urban Waste and Governance in Africa, International Development ResearchCentreCanadaKvaleSandBrinkmannS. (2009). Interviews,LearningtheCraftofQualitativeResearchInterviewing(Vol.2ndEdition).SAGEPublicationInc.

Lardinois I. andvandeKlundert, (1995),CommunityandPrivate (Formaland Informal)Sector Involvement in Municipal Solid Waste Management in Developing Countries,Backgroundpaper for "IttingenWorkshop", jointly organized by the SwissDevelopmentCooperation(SDC)andUrbanManagementProgramme(UMP)inIttingen,SwitzerlandLund, R.(1993) Gender and Place: Towards a Geography Sensitive to Gender, Place andSocial Change, Thesis submitted for the doctor rerum politicarum exam, Department ofGeography,UniversityofTrondheim),Norway.Medina,M.(2000),‘ScavengerscooperativesinAsiaandLatinAmerica’,Resources,ConservationandRecycling,Vol.31,pp51–69Moreno‐SanchezR.delP.,MaldonadoJ.H.(2006)Survivingfromgarbage:theroleofinformalwaste‐pickersinadynamicmodelofsolid‐wastemanagementindevelopingcountries, EnvironmentandDevelopmentEconomicsVol.11,pp371–391,CambridgeUniversityPressMwesigyeP.,MbogomaJ.,NyakongoJ.,IdanI.A.,KapindulaD.,HassanS.,BerkelR.V.(2009).Intergratedassessmentofpresentstatusofenvironmentally‐soundmanagementofwastesinAfrica.UnitedNationsIndustrialDevelopmentOrganisation.

New JuabenMunicipal Assembly (2009), Environmental Sanitation Strategies andActionPlans(DESSAP).

OECD (2010), Dedicated Public‐Private Partnership Units: A survey of institutional andgovernancestructures,OECDPublishing.OECD(2008),Public‐PrivatePartnerships:InPursuitofRiskSharingandValueforMoney,OECDPublishing,Paris.OnibokunA.G.andKumuyiA. J. (1999) ‘GovernanceandWasteManagement inAfrica’ InAdepojuG.Onibokun(ed.)ManagingtheMonster;UrbanWasteandGovernanceinAfrica,InternationalDevelopmentResearchCentreCanadaOteng‐Ababio M. (2010) Private sector involvement in solid waste management in theGreaterAccraMetropolitanAreainGhana,Sagepublications

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Polsby,N.W. (1984).Political Innovation inAmerica:ThePoliticsofPolicy Initiation,NewHaven:YaleUniversityPress.

PosnerP.,RyuS.K.andTkachenkoA.(2009).‘Public‐PrivatePartnerships:therelevanceofbudgeting’.OECDJournalonBudgeting.vol.1

ReedM.S.,GravesA.,DundeeN.,PosthumusH.,HubacekK.,MorrisJ.,PrellC.,QuinnC.H.,StringerL.C. (2009).Who’s inandwhy?A typologyof stakeholderanalysismethods fornatural resources management.Journal of Environmental Management.vol. 90, pp 1933‐1949.

ReportbytheAccraMetropolitanAssembly,Headquarters(2009).

SchübelerP.,WehrleKandChristenJ.(1996).ConceptualFrameworkforMunicipalSolidWaste in Low‐ Income Counries. SKAT ,Swiss Centre for Development Cooperation InTechnologyandManagementTchobanoglous, G. (2009) ‘Solid Waste Management’, In Nemerow, N. L., Agardy, F.J.,Sullivan,P.,Salvato,J.A.(ed.)EnvironmentalEngineering;EnvironmentalHealthandSafetyForMunicipalInfrastructure,LandUseandPlanning,andIndustry,NewJersey;JohnWileyandSons,IncThePublicProcurementAct663(2003)oftheParliamentoftheRepublicofGhana

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UNHABITAT(2010).SolidWasteManagement intheWorld’sCities,WaterandSanitationin theWorld’sCities,UnitedNationsHumanSettlementsProgramme,Earthscan,LondonandWashington,D.C

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World Bank Report (2006), African Development Indicators, International Bank forReconstructionandDevelopmentZoomlionGhanaLimited,2010,http://www.zoomlionghana.com/accessedon12‐01‐2011

APPENDICES

AppendixI:Guidelinestointerviews

1. INTERVIEWWITHGOVERNMENTINSTITUTIONS

A.InterviewwiththeMLGRD

Name of interviewee ………………… Position at work………………….Dayandtimeofinterview……………….

1.WhatistheroleoftheHealthandSanitationDirectorateoftheMLGRD?

2.Whatinformedtherevisionofthe1999EnvironmentalSanitationPolicy(ESP)?

3.WhowerethemainstakeholdersinvolvedinthemakingoftheESPandhowweretheyinvolved?

4.Doesthepolicyaddresstherealissuesaffectingthestakeholders?

5.WereinformalwastescollectorsinvolvedintheESP?

6.Doyouthinktheyhaveasubstantiveroleinsolidwastecollection?Ifyes,thenhowcantheybeformalizedandincludedinfuturepolicy?

7.Howdoesthedepartmentintendtodisseminateinformationoftherevisedpolicytothegeneralpublic?

8.Howareyouensuringthatthestakeholdersperformtheirrolesasstatedinthepolicyintermsofmanagingsolidwaste?

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9.Howaremonitoringandevaluationcarriedout?

10.Whichministryisresponsibleforthedisseminationoffundstothestakeholders?

11.Howisthedistributionof fundsamongstthegovernmentstakeholdersdone? (Example,whatpercentageisallocatedtotheMetropolitan,MunicipalandDistrictassemblies,EPA,etc?).

12. Do youhave any additional comments on how the solidwaste problem can be solved in thecountry?

B.InterviewwithwastedepartmentoftheEPA

Nameofinterviewee…………Positionatwork…………………

Dayandtimeofinterview………………

1.Whatisthespecificroleofthisdepartmentinsolidwastemanagement?

2.HowdidthedepartmentcontributeinthemakingofthenewESP?

3.Whatistheinstitutionalarrangementconcerningwastemanagement?(Isiteffective?)

4. What is the current research being carried out by the department concerning solid wastemanagement?

5.Howisinformationonwastegeneratedandkeptinthisdepartment?

6.Doyouhaveanycommentsonhowthesolidwastemenacecouldbesolved?

7.Howdoesthedepartmentgeneratefunds?

C.Interviewwithwastedepartmentsatthemunicipalities

Nameofthecity…………..Positionatwork………………….

Nameofinterviewee……………….DayandTimeofinterview………………

1.DoyouknowaboutthenewESP?

2.Wereyouinvolvedinthemakingofthepolicyandhowifyouwere?

3.Doesthepolicyaddressyourconcernsasastakeholder?

4. How is the solid waste management done in this city in terms of collection, transportation,disposal,andfinaltreatment?

5.Whoareyourcustomersandhowwillyoudescribetheirattitudetowardssolidwastedisposal?

6.Howoftenarethewastescollectedfromthesecustomers?

7.Whatarethemajorproblemsconfrontingthedepartmentinsolidwastemanagementintermsofi.Humanresources,ii.Physicalinfrastructures,iii.Technicalinfrastructureiv.Finance

8.Howisdataconcerningwastemanagementwithinthemunicipalitygeneratedandkept?

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9.Areyouabletokeeprecordoftheamountandtypeofsolidwastegenerated?

10.Howmanyprivatecompaniesareinvolvedinsolidwastemanagementinthiscity?

11. On what basis are private companies given contracts for waste management? (How is thecontractawarded?)

12.Whatistheextentofprivatesectorparticipationinthesolidwastemanagement?

13.Howhasthisextentbeendecided?(Isitbecausetheyhaveordonothavetheneededcapacity)

14.Hastheprivatesectorparticipationinthemanagementofwasteevolved?

15. How has it evolved? (Are there more private sector participation before or less, are theyworkingmoreefficientlynowthanbefore,)

16.Whatareyoursourcesoffunding?

17.Howdoyougenerateyourrevenue?(Isitthroughuserpayservicesorgovernmentsubsidy?)

18.Whatkindofstuffdoyouemploy?

19. Are they given training programs intermittently? What kind of training programs are theygiven?

20.Whatequipmentsdoyouhaveatyourdisposalintermsofthetypeofequipment,numberusedandnumberneeded?

21.Aretheequipmentsenoughandmadetosuitlocalconditions?

22.Howdoyoutheproblemofequipmentavailabilityandmaintenancebesolved?

23.Anyothercomments?

2.INTERVIEWWITHPRIVATEWASTEMANAGEMENTCOMPANIES

Nameofcompany……………….Nameofinterviewee………………

DayandTimeofinterview………………Positionatwork……………………...

1.AreyouawareofthenewEnvironmentalSanitationPolicy?

2.Wereyouinvolvedinthepolicymakingprocessandhowifyouwereinvolved?

4.Doesthepolicyaddressyourconcernsasastakeholder?

5.Howlonghaveyoubeenintheprivatewastemanagementsector?

6.Whatspecificallyareyourdutiesasaprivatecompany?

7.Iswastesortingdoneatanypointinthewastemanagementstream?

8.Areyouabletorecordtheamountandtypeofwastesgeneratedbyyourcustomers?

9.Whatareyourmainchallengesasaprivatewastemanagementcompany?

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10.Whatareyoursourcesoffundingandhowdoyougeneraterevenue?

11.Howmuchfeesdoyouchargeforwastecollectionservices?

12.Whatcategoryofstaffdoyouemployandaretheygivenanyonthejobtrainingprograms?

13.Isitlucrativetoattractpeopletothewasteindustry?Why?

14.Whatequipmentsdoyouhaveatyourdisposalintermsofthetypeofequipment,numberusedandnumberneeded?

15.Aretheequipmentsenoughandmadetosuitlocalconditions?

16.Howregularisthepaymentoftheassemblyforyourservices?

3.INTERVIEWWITHACADEMICSANDPROFESSIONALSINWASTEMANAGEMENT

Name…………………Placeofwork…………………..

Positionatwork…………………DayandTimeofinterview………………..

1.DoyouthinkthatsolidwastemanagementreceivesthatmuchattentioninGhana?

2.WhatisyourassessmentofthenewEnvironmentalSanitationPolicy?

3.Doyouthinkitaddressestherealissues,intermsofsocial,environmentalandeconomicaspectsofthewastemanagement?

4.WhatisyourownassessmentoftheresearchtrendofwastemanagementinGhana?

5.Howdoyouthinktheissueofsustainablewastemanagementcanberealized?