AMA to Model Agbogbloshie Community Sanitation Across Accra
The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has announced plans to adopt and scale a community-led environmental restoration framework currently being piloted around the June 4th Market area at Agbogbloshie as a standard model for city-wide urban waste management.
The Metropolitan Chief Executive of Accra, Mr Michael Kpakpo Allotey, made the commitment during a site inspection of the ongoing drainage restoration works along the critical canal system that feeds into the Korle Lagoon.
The intervention, spearheaded by civil society organisation The Or Foundation in partnership with over 60 local community volunteers, combines heavy waste removal with circular economy practices, including waste segregation, erosion control, and long-term land reclamation.
Speaking after inspecting a 300-metre cleared stretch of the canal, Mr Allotey described the initiative as a practical blueprint for sustainable urban sanitation that demonstrates the power of collaborative civic action.
“This intervention goes beyond clearing refuse; it improves living conditions for an entire community and demonstrates how local authorities, civil society, and residents can pool resources to tackle complex environmental challenges,” the Mayor stated.
Mr Allotey assured the Foundation of the Assembly’s full institutional backing to establish a formal, institutionalised waste management structure for the market enclave, despite existing municipal budget constraints.
Briefing the Mayor on the technical scope, the Head of Environmental Justice at The Or Foundation, Katia Osei, explained that the intervention was preceded by comprehensive spatial analysis, including aerial mapping, hydrological studies, and historical waste movement patterns around the Korle Lagoon basin.
She disclosed that engineering measures, including the installation of flexible plastic barriers and reinforced erosion buffers, have been deployed along cleared sections to trap floating debris and prevent heavy runoff from choking the lagoon during major rainfall events.
Expanding on the operational strategy, the Environmental Field Operations Lead, Mr David Kwabena Akpablie, noted that recovered materials are systematically sorted into distinct streams, such as textiles, plastics, and organic waste, to feed into recycling networks rather than ending up in landfills.
Mr Akpablie added that the ultimate objective is to transform reclaimed buffer zones along the canal into green public spaces while establishing permanent circular economy systems that generate local economic opportunities.
Bala Ali, ISD
