Former Accra Mayor and Member of Parliament for Ablekuma South, Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, has called for the establishment and effective use of sanitation courts to strengthen enforcement of environmental laws and tackle the country’s growing sanitation challenges.
He said while Ghana has sanitation standards and regulations, weak enforcement has undermined efforts to keep communities clean, stressing that dedicated sanitation courts were needed to prosecute offenders and deter illegal waste disposal.
Speaking on the Citi Breakfast Show on Friday, July 17, 2026, against the backdrop of growing public concern over sanitation, Mr Vanderpuije said local assemblies and city authorities must prioritise enforcement if they are to reverse the deteriorating state of the environment.
“I think that what we need to recognize is that it takes standards to maintain our expectations. If we have standards, then we must rise up to ensure and enforce the standards,” he said.
“Where are our sanitation courts? Our sanitation courts must be in place. And we must enforce. We must arrest and enforce.”
Mr Vanderpuije singled out operators of tricycle waste collection services, popularly known as Aboboyaa trucks, accusing some of illegally dumping refuse to avoid paying fees at designated disposal sites.
“Aboboyaa trucks and Aboboyaa drivers, they should not run our cities. They have been given the opportunity to earn a living. The problem is that when they go to the sites where they have to dump, they don’t want to pay. So they find a way, and they dump by the wayside,” he said.
He urged city authorities to arrest offenders and prosecute them through the courts.
“They should be arrested immediately. They must be taken to court, and they must be disciplined. The enforcement needs to happen. Our cities and city authorities cannot give up on this fight,” he said.
The former mayor also welcomed the passage of legislation establishing tribunals and suggested that the new court system could be used to strengthen the enforcement of sanitation laws at the district and regional levels.
“Yesterday, we passed a bill to introduce tribunals. Let us then look at it. It is going to be at the district level, at the regional level, and use this court system to bring sanity into our country. It is now getting out of hand. We need to stand up,” he said.
Mr Vanderpuije said addressing Ghana’s sanitation challenges would require firm enforcement of existing laws and sustained commitment from local authorities to hold offenders accountable.
