The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has outsourced the cleaning of the capital to 11 private companies.

This the assembly said was being undertaken in accordance with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s bid to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

The assembly noted that people who generate waste will pay for the waste generated as the 11 companies have been distributed across 15 zones to ensure that sanitation is tackled.

In a press statement issued on Tuesday May 9, the assembly outlined the 11 companies and the zones they had been assigned.

The AMA said as part of its new scheme, there will be an intensified distribution of garbage bins in the city of Accra.

“This will tremendously ensure convenient and reliable household waste collection and dignified waste disposal. We are, therefore, directing all residents to register with the service provider assigned in their respective areas,” the statement added.

Additionally, the AMA said it would commission a new transfer station at Achimota – owned by a private sanitation company – to provide an additional site for trucks and tricycles to dump waste, explaining that the move will “reduce the distance for carting waste to the final disposal site”.

The assembly cautioned that “operating waste dumping sites without permit is illegal and there will be effective enforcement”.

Dumping of garbage or large items onto unapproved sites or places will be met with prosecutions or large fines, the city managers emphasised, adding that dedicated WhatsApp hotline numbers 0202464444 and 0202464411 are operational for reporting and sending photographic evidence of fly-tipping to AMA.