THE KUMASI Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) is indebted to service providers, in the management of solid waste collection and disposal, to the tune of GH¢3,600,000, as at May 2008.

The Metro Chief Executive (MCE), Ms. Patricia Appiagyei, who disclosed this challenge, which she attributed to increasing population and urbanization, during a visit by the Parliamentary Select Committee of Environment, Science and Technology, headed by Mr. Kwame Owusu Frimpong, Member of Parliament (MP) for Ahafo Ano North, indicated that service providers had not been able perform satisfactorily, because of irregular payments for services rendered.

She said solid waste collection, and disposal, was becoming a huge challenge to Metro, Municipal and District Assemblies in the country.

According to her, Kumasi records a current daily solid waste generation of 1,200 tonnes, from 600 tonnes in 2000.

The MCE disclosed that the KMA was managing solid waste, at a monthly cost of GH¢589,200, arising from the waste collection of 36,000 tonnes, at GH¢9 per tonne, at a total monthly cost of GH¢324,000, and its disposal at GH¢7.2 per tonne, at GH¢265,200.

As at February 2006, the KMA was managing waste in the metropolis, at a cost of GH¢300,000, per month, the amount included GH¢150,000, as cost of managing the landfill site at Oti, near Kumasi.

Ms. Appiagyei said the huge outstanding debt, necessitated the introduction of the city-wide solid waste collection levy scheme, effective January 1, 2008, as a means of generating revenue locally, to support the financing of waste collection in a sustainable manner.

Effective January 1, 2008, every house in the metropolis is expected to pay a monthly fee for solid waste collection service.

The fee, according to the Metro Chief Executive, ranges from GH¢3 to GH¢5 per month, depending on where one resides. Beneficiaries of the door-to-door waste collection service, categorized as Classes A, B and C residential areas, would pay GH¢5, GH¢4 and GH¢3, respectively.

To address the challenges of waste management, the KMA, per the conveners of the various sub-committees, have recommended that 40,000 household bins be provided at GH¢4,800,000, to facilitate the house-to-house waste collection service.

Forty communal containers would be needed at the various transfer stations, at an estimated cost of GH¢120,000.

Ten private contractors, one for each sub-metro area in the Kumasi metropolis, have been selected, through tendering, to provide collection service, following the demarcation of the metropolis into 10 service zones.

The KMA has procured one contractor, for each of the ten Sub-Metro Councils, to whom an expected monthly subsidy of GH¢109,578.67, is to be paid.

The contract for the door-to-door collection of refuse from households, in the metropolis for the next five years, has been awarded to Osbon Enterprise (Asawase), Sak-M Co. Ltd (Asokwa), Meskworld Co. Ltd, (Bantama and Manhyia), Waste Group Co. Ltd (Kwadaso), KWML (Nhyiaeso), ABC Co. Ltd (Oforikrom), Anthoco Waste Co. Ltd (Suame) and Zoomlion for Subin and Tafo districts.

Until the introduction of the solid waste collection service, collection of 86% of waste generated, by the KMA was free, while only 14%, in the form of communal services (door to door), was paid for.

MCE Appiagyei called on the Parliamentary Select Committee, to prevail on the government, to ensure the payment of the outstanding debt of GH¢3,600,000, and improve upon transfer stations in the metropolis.

Meanwhile, the KMA is anticipating handing over the management of solid waste at the Asawase, and Manhyia sub-metros to Zoomlion, said to have extra capacity to competently handle the job.

While Osbon Enterprise is said to be unable to mobilize adequate equipment, to manage solid waste at Asawase, Meskworld Company Limited has been found wanting in terms of availability, described as poor, explained in the abysmal poor disposal site at Ohwim.

In a related development, the construction works, under the proposed waste-to-energy plant, is expected to take off by next month, as investors are currently at the final stages of assembling and shipment of equipment, Ms. Appiagyei disclosed.

Last year, the President, Mr. J. A. Kufuor, cut the sod in Kumasi, for the commencement of the construction of a 50-megawatts capacity waste-to-energy plant, to reduce over-dependency on electricity supply from the national grid, from the Akosombo dam, to provide an alternative energy source.

The project was to debut the conversion of solid waste to energy in Ghana, as the beginning of one of the best models for a sustainable, reliable and efficient energy supply.

The plant to be installed by a Canadian firm, CINERGEX Solutions Limited, at an estimated cost of $135 million, follows a Memorandum of Understanding between the company and the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) in November 2004, as part of efforts at tackling waste management problems in the Kumasi metropolis. As part of the agreement, the KMA was obliged to provide two hectares minimum land area for the project, as well as supply 1,000 tonnes of solid waste per day, to feed the plant, when it becomes operational.

The construction of the plant, to be wholly financed by the Canadian company, would be operated on a Build-Operated and Transfer (BOT) basis, with no financial commitment by the Ghana Government or the KMA, is expected to generate between 30 and 50 megawatts of electric power, about 30% of the total power requirement for Kumasi.