Parliament’s Sanitation and Water Resources Committee has called on government to review Ghana’s sanitation financing, proposing that the existing 10-pesewa levy be detached from the Energy Sector Levy and increased to 50 pesewas.
The Committee argues that without a stronger and dedicated fund, the country’s sanitation crisis will only worsen.
Committee members noted that Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Assemblies (MMDAs) have been struggling to manage waste since the cancellation of the Youth Employment Agency–Zoomlion contract, which previously supported waste collection. They insist that a significant increment in the levy is the only way to guarantee proper funding for sanitation across the country.
Committee Chairman, John Oti Bless, explained that the proposed 50-pesewa charge would allow government to channel resources more effectively.
“I am suggesting that we increase it to at least GH₵0.50. With that amount, we can allocate a portion to the National Youth Employment Agency so they can recruit more young people into sanitation work,” he said.
He further criticized the current funding levels as woefully inadequate, citing his own constituency as an example.
“In my district, where sanitation challenges are huge, the directors tell me they receive only about GH₵200,000. That is simply inadequate and cannot solve the problem,” Mr. Oti Bless lamented.
The Committee has therefore urged government to prioritize sanitation by adopting a dedicated levy that matches the scale of the crisis.
“Unless we have a clear and reliable source of funding, the situation will not improve,” the Chairman warned, stressing that urgent action is needed to address Ghana’s growing waste management challenges.
