The Mayor of Sekondi-Takoradi, Frederick Festinous Faidoo, has defended the sanitation record of the metropolis, insisting that the Assembly lacks adequate financial resources to effectively manage waste despite ongoing efforts to improve the situation.
His comments come in response to claims by the Minister for Local Government and other stakeholders that he is presiding over a dirty metropolis.
Addressing a press conference in Sekondi on June 18, Mr. Faidoo disclosed that the Assembly’s 10% of the GH¢19.5 million allocation from the 2025 District Assemblies Common Fund for waste management is insufficient to tackle the growing sanitation challenges across the twin city.
According to him, the allocation is expected to cover both waste collection operations and the management of the metropolis’ landfill site, making it inadequate for the scale of work required.
“When I assumed office, the waste management situation was nothing to write home about. The Assembly didn’t have even one truck to lift waste within the metropolis. What they were doing was rent and rely on partners.
“The landfill lies within our metropolis, so it is the 10% that we are to use to manage the waste and the landfill site, and managing the landfill site is a very expensive venture,” he said.
Despite the constraints, the Mayor said the Assembly has taken steps to strengthen its waste management capacity through the acquisition of new equipment and logistics to improve refuse collection and disposal.
He also pointed to an existing waste management contract with Zoomlion, which he said limited the Assembly’s flexibility in handling waste collection and disposal operations.
Mr. Faidoo maintained that while sanitation remains a challenge, significant efforts are being made to improve conditions across the metropolis and ensure a cleaner environment for residents.
