JAMESTOWN WASTE CRISIS: GOV’T MOVES TO CLEAR MASSIVE DUMPSITE, DEPLOY MILITARY
Date: 2026-09-02
STORY: PRINCE OBIMPEH / WWW.NEWSMANGH.COM
The government is preparing a major operation to evacuate the huge volume of waste accumulated at Jamestown in Accra to the Adipa Waste Management Centre, an engineered landfill facility at Nsawam in the Eastern Region. Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Minister Mahama Ayariga announced the plan after visiting the facility on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, to assess its capacity.
The visit followed inspections of the Jamestown and Achimota Waste Transfer Stations, the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant and the Kpone landfill site. Following the assessment, Mr Ayariga said he had engaged the Ministers for Roads and Highways, Finance and Defence to develop an emergency evacuation plan. Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group, subsequently confirmed that the Adipa landfill was available to receive the waste.
A technical assessment will determine the volume of waste, distance to the landfill, number of trucks and trips required, fuel needs and duration of the exercise. The Director of Highways and his technical team will lead the assessment, while the Roads and Highways Ministry and major construction companies in the Greater Accra and Eastern regions are expected to provide trucks and heavy-duty equipment. Several contractors have reportedly offered their machinery voluntarily.
The government is also considering temporarily closing selected roads during the evacuation to prevent traffic congestion. Mr Ayariga said the operation could be conducted over selected weekends, with designated routes restricted to waste trucks operating under police protection to ensure the exercise is completed quickly.
After the waste is removed, the military will be deployed to secure the cleared areas and prevent renewed dumping, littering and encroachment by squatters. The Minister said the security arrangement was necessary to protect the government’s investment, adding that the Finance Ministry was developing plans for the redevelopment of the Jamestown site.
Operations Manager of the Waste Landfill Company Limited, Richard Omane Mensah, said the over-200-acre Adipa facility could receive more than 3,000 tonnes of waste daily and operates around the clock. It currently receives between 1,500 and 1,600 tonnes each day and could remain operational for 35 to 50 years. He, however, warned that poor access roads could slow the trucks, as the government finalises the operation following the technical assessment.
