By Valentia Tetteh
The 80-acre land that was reclaimed from Onion Sellers at Agbogbloshie in Accra some three years ago has become a site for open defecation and a dumpsite. Although the land has been fenced, the wall appears only to protect the space from encroachment.
GBC News team visited the site to ascertain the sanitation situation in the area.
Agbogbloshie, in Accra, was known for its electronic waste (e-waste). The area was home to a large informal e-waste recycling enclave where electronic devices were dismantled and some components burnt in the open to extract valuable materials leading to air pollution. Run-off water from the site also contaminates nearby water sources. It is to make the area safe, decongest and also develop the site that the Greater Accra Regional Minister in collaboration with the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating council decided to relocate the scrap dealers as well as the onion sellers in 2021. It was part of an initiative dubbed “Let’s Make Accra Work”. Under the initiative is a re-development scheme that was to ensure the establishment of a modern health facility on a portion of the land.
Three years on, however, the 80-acre land has now become a site for open defecation and an unauthorised dumpsite. GBC News visited the site and observed that the entire area is engulfed with filth and other toxic waste. Although the area has been fenced, the walls appear only to protect the space from encroachment. Speaking with GBC News, Seidu Alhassan, a scrub dealer, explained how they dispose of the waste materials after sorting out their electronic waste.
”When we finish sorting out the e-waste from the very bad ones, we gather them for it to be plenty, then our elders will take it to a particular place far from town and burn it in a machine to extract the metals from it. We don’t burn it like how other people do it to pollute the air.’
He also raised concerns about the improper disposal of refuse and burning on the site, which pose a health hazard to them, especially to children who come to play on the football park.
”We have tried several times to stop them from dumping refuse around but all efforts proved futile. Sometimes they come to dump the refuse in the night so by the time we come to work, the whole place is filled with rubbish.”
King David is a refuse collector who has been in the business for six years. He explained to GBC News off record that he makes a living from collecting refuse and this is where he dumps the rubbish, and sorts out some useful items for sale.
Efforts by local and international organisations to address the environmental and health challenges in Agbogbloshie seem far-fetched. Environmentalists believe policy reforms and collaboration between all partners, including the government and the private sector, could make plans to transform and redevelop the site materialise.
