Kumasi, the second most industrialized city in Ghana after Accra, was once celebrated as the Garden City. However, for decades, it has been engulfed in filth. Sanitation and waste management remain persistent challenges that require urgent and sustained intervention.
In 2021, the Government of Ghana secured US$74 million from the World Bank to improve water and sanitation services nationwide. Part of this funding was earmarked for the Greater Kumasi Sanitation and Water Project, which aimed to provide 30,000 household toilet facilities for low-income residents in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area.
Former Sanitation and Water Resources Minister Cecilia Abena Dapaah, made that announcement during the World Toilet Day celebrations in Kumasi on November 21, 2021.
In 2022, Kumasi also received 2.5 million euros in support from the European Union through the Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development initiative, a 30-month project that was launched to improve the city’s sanitation. At the launch, the former Ashanti Regional Minister, Simon Osei Mensah, noted that sanitation had become the second most pressing issue in the region, after roads.
“When the president gave me the opportunity to represent him in the Ashanti region, I did a survey to identify the top challenges of the region and among the first three was sanitation. The first was roads, the second was security, and the third was sanitation. But as I speak, sanitation has moved to second after roads,” he stated.
Year after year and administration after administration, the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly has initiated and launched various programmes geared towards making Kumasi clean and green. Yet, these initiatives are yet to reflect on the streets of the city.
The latest to join the fight against the sanitation crisis in the region is the new Ashanti Regional Minister, Dr. Frank Amoakohene.
In just one month, Ashanti Regional Minister Dr. Frank Amoakohene has twice pledged to address the region’s mounting sanitation challenges, raising public expectations for swift and tangible action.
On March 6, 2025, while speaking to the media during a cleanup exercise as part of Ghana’s 68th Independence Day celebrations, Dr. Amoakohene announced that a proposal to penalise sanitation offenders was under consideration.
He further hinted at deploying sanitation officers—graduates from the School of Hygiene—as compliance enforcers, particularly within the Central Business District, to ensure adherence to sanitation regulations.
“There is equally a selection on my table concerning the deployment of sanitation officers… You litter, you pay. We can even generate funds from there,” he said.
He acknowledged possible concerns about leakages and misuse of such levies but stressed the need for collective commitment to restore Kumasi’s image as the Garden City.
“Once we put our heads together… with that unity of purpose we should be able to achieve same.”
A little over a month later, what became of that proposal? Was it tabled, shelved, or simply forgotten?
Fast forward to April 12, 2025, and Dr. Amoakohene is back in the headlines during a regional Sanitation Day exercise, this time revealing a different tactic: the use of CCTV cameras to monitor and catch those dumping refuse at unauthorised locations.
“We have redirected some of our cameras from the signals department to capture images and footage from these areas,” he said. “Anyone caught… will be dealt with.”
This pivot raises questions about follow-through on his earlier proposal. With no updates on the deployment of sanitation officers or penalties for offenders, the public is left wondering whether these initiatives are mere rhetoric or part of a cohesive, long-term plan.
The region’s sanitation woes, particularly in areas like Adum, Asafo, Roman Hill, and Kejetia, are glaring. Indiscriminate dumping and littering remain rampant, especially in the central business district.
Clearly, the solution lies not just in promises, isolated campaigns, or the launch of initiatives and programmes but in sustained discipline, enforcement of sanitation laws, and transparent policy implementation.
Until then, the fight against poor sanitation in the Ashanti Region remains a revolving door of pledges and the launch of initiatives and programmes, without progress.
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