Government Introduces Sanitation Levy To Help Rid Ghana Of Filth

The Government of Ghana has introduced a Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL) that would raise sustainable funds to help rid Ghana of filth. As part of a comprehensive sanitation programme, the new levy among others will address a litany of challenges to keep Ghana clean.

The country’s Majority Leader in Parliament, and currently the Caretaker Finance Minister, Hon.  Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu made the revelation while delivering the 2021 Budget Statement and Economic Policy on Friday, 12 March 2021.

“Mr Speaker, these are all very critical investments that have to be made for the benefit and dignity of all Ghanaians. These will ensure sustainable sanitation management, improve the quality of life and reduce the number of deaths and diseases from poor sanitation. To provide the requisite resources to address these challenges and fund these activities, the Government is proposing a Sanitation and Pollution Levy (SPL) of 10 Pesewas on the price per litre of petrol/diesel under the Energy Sector Levies Act (ESLA)”, he explained. 

Hon.  Osei Kyei-Mensah-Bonsu who is also the Minister for Parliamentary Affairs noted that regardless of the progress that has been chalked the areas of sanitation and pollution, there was still more to be done. He earlier outlined the things that the sanitation levy would tackle as follows:

1. Improve urban air quality and combat air pollution;

2. Support the re-engineering of landfill sites at Kpone and Oti;

3. Support fumigation of public spaces, schools, health centres and markets;

4. Revamp/reconstruct poorly managed landfill facilities;

5. Construct more sustainable state-of-the-art waste treatment plants both solid and liquid in selected locations across the country;

6. Construct waste recycling and compost plants across the country;

7. Construct more sanitation facilities to accelerate the elimination of open defaecation.

8. Construct final treatment and disposal sites for solid and liquid waste;

9. Provide dedicated support for the annual maintenance and management of major landfill sites and other waste treatment plants and facilities across the country; and

10. Construct medical waste treatment facilities to prevent generation of infectious diseases especially under the Coronavirus Treatment Programme.

 

 

Source: Yvette Appiah (Journalist, Real Estate Times Africa)