After remaining silent for days as heaps of refuse collected during last week’s National Sanitation Exercise littered streets across the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis and sparked public outrage, the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) has issued what could be described as a careful curated afterthought statement detailing and explaining why it was unable to evacuate the waste promptly.
The statement, released by the Office of the Mayor after residents complained of foul odours and mounting refuse while social media criticism intensified, attributed the delay to logistical challenges at the Sofokrom engineered landfill site.
According to the Assembly, heavy rains rendered the access road to the landfill difficult to use before the clean-up exercise, while a refuse truck that became stuck on the only access road caused severe congestion, preventing waste collection vehicles from offloading refuse.
The Assembly also said refuse trucks from the Effia-Kwesimintsim Municipal Assembly (EKMA) and other users of the landfill queued at the facility, worsening the situation.
It maintained that the circumstances were beyond its control and noted that its Waste Management Department had been working since Sunday to restore access to the landfill.
The statement added that waste evacuation commenced at about 5 a.m. on Tuesday and expressed confidence that all refuse heaps would be cleared by the close of business the following day.
The explanation follows days of public criticism over heaps of refuse left along roadsides and at collection points after the nationwide clean-up exercise. Residents complained that the lingering waste produced offensive odours and posed a health risk, particularly during the ongoing rainy season.
The controversy intensified after the Western Regional Director of the National Youth Authority, Hakim, questioned the Assembly’s response on social media, urging the media to hold the STMA accountable.
“How can you do a clean-up exercise and leave the waste on the streets for days? This lack of leadership in sanitation is ridiculous and an insult to residents,” he wrote.
The latest development comes amid heightened scrutiny of sanitation management in the metropolis. Western Regional Minister Joseph Nelson and Local Government Minister Ahmed Bamba Ibrahim have both publicly criticised the poor sanitation situation in Sekondi-Takoradi, with the sector minister directing the Assembly to take urgent steps to improve conditions.
At a recent press conference, Mayor Frederick Faidoo defended his administration, arguing that inadequate funding, limited logistics and the cost of operating the Western Region’s only engineered landfill site had constrained the Assembly’s ability to address sanitation challenges.
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