President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called for a total shift in the behaviour of citizens towards the disposal of plastic waste in the country.
He said the efforts to develop and implement an effective national waste management policy would be in vain if Ghanaians did not change their attitude towards the disposal of plastic waste.
“In villages, towns and cities, plastic waste continues to destroy the beauty of surroundings, clog drainage systems, resulting in floods, some of which have caused numerous lives and properties,” he said.
President Akufo-Addo said this when he launched the Ghana National Plastics Action Partnership (NPAP) in Accra yesterday.
The NPAP forms part of the Global Plastic Action Partnership, an initiative of the World Economic Forum, seeks to engage governments, regional bodies, international organisations, among other stakeholders with the aim to stop global plastic pollution.
President Akufo-Addo observed that in rivers, deltas and oceans, the presence of plastics threatened the survival of aquatic life and its biodiversity.
“Day to day activities of human beings are being affected by the phenomenon and that is why confronting the problem demands active partnership and cooperation by all nations,” he said.
He indicated that the government had developed an effective strategy to deal with the challenges associated with the effective management of plastics in the country.
The decision, he said, had resulted in the Plastics Management Policy of Ghana which addresses plastic pollution and the associated issues along the entire value chain of plastics.
President Akufo-Addo said the objective of the policy was to reduce the reliance of plastics and promote their replacement with green alternative.
Also, he said the policy would nurture the development of new business models for job creation throughout the value chain.
Another objective of the policy, he said, was to develop systems and infrastructure to ensure that Ghanaians did not litter plastics but use them as resources for value addition
President Akufo-Addo expressed confidence in the country’s ability to address the menace of plastic waste, indicating that the nation had expertise, social enterprise and will-power to take on the issues.
The vision of the government, according to the President, is to fast track the focus of achieving zero leakage of plastics into the country’s oceans.
President Akufo-Addo pledged the government’s commitments towards the successful implementation of the plan and commended the efforts of civil society organisations, businesses, the media, among other stakeholders towards plastic waste management.
He also commended private sector operators for building waste recycling plants to create bio-fuel to reduce the reliance on fossil fuel.
“Government is ready to partner all stakeholders to drive investment and research in this area,” he said.
By Yaw Kyei and Claude Nyarko Adams
