Chairman of Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee advocates for a nationwide ban on plastics

The Chairman of Parliament’s Works and Housing Committee, Vincent Oppong Asamoah,  has advocated for a nationwide ban on plastics due to their severe environmental impact and role in exacerbating flooding in Accra.

During a site visit to the Odawna drainage system, part of the Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development (GARID) Project, Mr. Oppong Asamoah highlighted the significant problem of plastic waste clogging drains and hindering progress. The GARID Project, funded by a $200 million World Bank grant since 2020, aims to address chronic flooding in Accra, particularly along the Odaw River basin.

Asamoah’s call for a ban on plastics is supported by a recent Ipsos poll, which found that 85% of people worldwide want a global ban on single-use plastics. This ban could help reduce global plastic production, with 87% of those polled supporting such a measure.

According to the chairman of the committee, sometime in 2019, the World Bank gave the country 200m dollars for the project “Since the World Bank disbursed the $200 million, progress on the project has significantly slowed. If the initiative had been fully implemented by now, the recurrent flooding in Accra could have been largely minimized.

The government bears part of the blame for the slow pace, but citizens must also change their attitude. We all have a role to play in ensuring the success of such important national projects.”

“If you look around, things have slowed down, and when you check the project is very important – if it had been fully completed, flooding in Accra would have been minimised but it has delayed for about five years, aside that government has delayed a bit, we the citizens too have bad attitude, we urged all citizens to do the right thing.

As committee we have oversight responsibility to ensure things are done well and protect properties. Our primary concern is safeguarding lives and property. We will table our report in Parliament to ensure the necessary steps are taken to address the situation effectively.”

Other favored measures include banning harmful chemicals used in plastics (90% support) and ensuring plastics can be safely reused and recycled.

Asamoah’s initiative aligns with global efforts to reduce plastic waste and promote sustainable practices. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Plastic Free Foundation are among organizations advocating for strong, legally binding global rules to cut plastic pollution.

The Ranking Member of the Works and Housing Committee in Parliament, Korsah-Adjei Mensah Martin calls for arrest of individuals who pollutes drains with rubbish.

“As citizens our attitude, I remember of the 17 assemblies that formed GARID, some of us put together a report on encroachment – where the gutter is, when it rains, it is can be easily flooded, so we sounded out that no one should be there, but later when you go back to check, someone has built up a structure, you are endangering your life and property.

That report, we have not put it to use, so I agree with the chairman that it is time we allow the law to work, otherwise when there is an issue or problem, it affects all of us.

Our attitude, human actions we need to be mindful, it should not be that every year, when there are rains -then it is accompanied by flooding, we spend a lot of money on desilting gutters , and every year we waste money to do it over again, so we need to allow the law to work.”