News:
October 16, 2026
Media urged to look beyond visible sanitation problems and scrutinise financing, policy and institutional decisions
The Jospong Group of Companies has urged journalists to investigate the financing, pricing arrangements and service contracts underpinning Ghana’s waste management sector to promote transparency, accountability and sustainable sanitation.
Betty Brown Nyadu, Group Head for Government Relations, Environment and Sanitation Processing Cluster at Jospong Group, made the call during a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) on Thursday, October 15, 2026.
She said the media must look beyond visible sanitation problems and scrutinise the policies, financial arrangements and institutional decisions shaping waste management in the country.
“Ghana needs the media to report on waste management more than ever before,” she said.
Nyadu described waste management as more than the collection and disposal of rubbish, calling it a national development issue with far-reaching implications for public health, economic productivity, climate resilience, infrastructure and governance.
According to her, poor waste management can contaminate water sources, degrade land, spread diseases and contribute to air pollution through open burning. She added that the uncontrolled decomposition of organic waste at dump sites releases methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to climate change.
The economic impact, she noted, includes disruptions to transportation and commercial activities during flooding, lost productive hours for businesses and increased government expenditure on emergency responses.
She further observed that Ghana was losing valuable resources through inadequate recovery, recycling and reuse of waste materials that could otherwise support economic activity.
“Waste, therefore, is not simply something to be collected and discarded. It is a development challenge with environmental, social, and economic consequences,” she said.
What journalists should investigate
Nyadu urged journalists to examine whether Ghana’s waste management system is adequately financed and whether existing service contracts and pricing arrangements reflect the actual cost of delivering services.
She also called for closer scrutiny of:
· Delayed payments to service providers
· The availability of equipment and infrastructure
· The capacity of local authorities
· Coordination among public institutions responsible for sanitation
· Whether the policy environment encourages private-sector investment
· Whether waste collected across the country is sufficiently recycled, composted or converted into useful products
She warned that inadequate financing could lead to unpaid obligations, deferred maintenance, insufficient equipment and reduced investment in new facilities, ultimately undermining service delivery and the long-term sustainability of sanitation systems.
Fair pricing, not blank cheque
Nyadu, however, cautioned against interpreting calls for fair pricing as an endorsement of every charge imposed by service providers.
“Advocating fair pricing does not mean defending every price charged by a service provider. It means defending a transparent, evidence-based, and accountable pricing system that reflects the genuine cost of delivering the required service whilst protecting public interest,” she said.
She urged journalists to move beyond reporting the visible consequences of poor sanitation and investigate the underlying financial and institutional factors contributing to the problem.
According to her, sustained media scrutiny of how waste management contracts are structured, how service providers are paid and whether existing financial arrangements can support the services expected by communities would help strengthen public accountability.
“We need the kind of journalism that can move the national conversation from reaction to prevention, from complaints to accountability, and from short-term interventions to lasting solutions,” she said.
Nyadu maintained that greater transparency, effective planning and long-term investment were essential to addressing Ghana’s sanitation challenges and building a sustainable waste management system.
She expressed confidence that informed and investigative journalism could help the public better understand the decisions influencing sanitation outcomes and encourage stakeholders to pursue lasting solutions.
Ghanamps.com