The Jospong Group of Companies has challenged journalists to investigate the financing, pricing arrangements and service contracts underpinning Ghana’s waste management sector to promote transparency, accountability and sustainable sanitation.
According to the Group Head for Government Relations, Environment and Sanitation Processing Cluster at Jospong Group, Betty Brown Nyadu, the media ought to look beyond visible sanitation problems and scrutinise the policies, financial arrangements and institutional decisions shaping waste management in the country.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) on Thursday, October 15, 2026, Ms Nyadu described waste management as more than the collection and disposal of rubbish.
She said poor waste management can contaminate water sources, degrade land, spread diseases and contribute to air pollution through open burning. She added that the uncontrolled decomposition of organic waste at dump sites releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
Ms Nyadu further noted that poor waste management carries high economic costs, including disruptions to transportation and commercial activities during flooding, lost productive hours for businesses and increased government expenditure on emergency responses.
She also warned that inadequate recovery, recycling and reuse of waste materials meant Ghana was losing valuable resources that could otherwise support economic activity.
“Waste, therefore, is not simply something to be collected and discarded. It is a development challenge with environmental, social, and economic consequences,” she said.
The Jospong Group executive urged journalists to investigate whether Ghana’s waste management system was adequately financed and whether existing service contracts and pricing arrangements reflected the actual cost of delivering services.
She called for closer scrutiny of delayed payments to service providers, the availability of equipment and infrastructure, the capacity of local authorities and coordination among public institutions responsible for sanitation.
She also encouraged the media to examine whether the country’s policy environment supported private-sector investment and whether waste collected across the country was being adequately recycled, composted or converted into useful products.
Ms Nyadu warned that inadequate financing could result in unpaid obligations, deferred maintenance, insufficient equipment and reduced investment in new facilities, ultimately undermining service delivery and the long-term sustainability of sanitation systems.
However, she cautioned against interpreting calls for fair pricing as an endorsement of every charge imposed by service providers.
“Advocating fair pricing does not mean defending every price charged by a service provider. It means defending a transparent, evidence-based, and accountable pricing system that reflects the genuine cost of delivering the required service whilst protecting public interest,” she said.
By: Ekow Annan/newsalertgh.com
