MODERN LANDFILL SITE FOR KPONE (PAGE 30, JAN 22, 2010)

Construction of a modern solid waste disposal facility to improve waste management in the Tema metropolis is to start at the Kpone landfill site next month .
The World Bank sponsored project is estimated to cost GH¢ 5.5 million and will displace about 400 people who engaged in stone quarrying and scavenging at the site .
A compensation package of GH¢401.55 per person would be paid to the affected persons for one month to serve as a mitigation measure to ensure that those who were directly affected by the project were taken care of in respect of a possible loss of their source of livelihood.
This was announced at a forum of chiefs , elders and youth groups at Kpone to educate the people on the project,
The new facility, which is expected to be completed within 18 months, would have leachate collection pipes which would be directed into manholes and treatment plants as a measure to check underground water contamination .
The civil engineer of the Metropolitan Development Collaborative Limited, Mr Justice Isaac Mintah, said other facilities to be constructed at the site include discharge pits , drainage systems, weigh bridges, offices and access roads .
He said the smoke emitting from the landfill is not only a nuisance to industries in the vicinity, but also posed health risks among other to scavengers and workers who worked unprotected at the site.
Mr Mintah noted that the new site would have gas collection facility, where harmful gases produced from the refuse would be channelled and possibly used for other purposes .
The Project Co–ordinating Officer, Mrs Alice Addai – Yeboah, said the Tema Metropolitan Assembly would allocate portions of the site to the affected people as a resettlement assistance.
He stated, however, that the beneficiaries would be required to sign an agreement to ensure the return of the land at the appropriate time .
She explained that the compensation package for the stone quarriers and scavengers was arrived at after, series of meetings and deliberations between the Tema Metropolitan Assembly and the leaders of the affected people .
Mrs Addai- Yeboah noted that the resettlement package was part of conditions set by the World Bank for the funding of the project.
The Co-ordinating Director of the TMA , Mr Kwaku Akportosu, confirmed that the assembly would pay the compensation before the start of the project in February 2010.
He said the project was important to the assembly as it would ensure proper waste management and disposal in the metropolis and minimise health risks associated with the current landfill site .
Mr Akportosu said dumping of refuse at the old landfill site was started several years ago to fill galleys, created by contractors during the construction of the Tema Harbour .
He stated that the site posed health risks to people as many tons of filth from Tema and its environs were deposited at the site daily
Elders of the Kpone Traditional Council and representatives of some youth groups appealed to the assembly to extend the compensation package to cover landowners and residents .
They explained that as landowners, they needed to benefit specially from the project for giving out land adding that compensation should not only be granted to the stone quarriers .
The elders and youth groups also suggested that stakeholders of the project especially the TMA, must intensify education for residents of Kpone on the project before construction started to ensure a smooth take-off
Slides on the designs of the new project, proposed site characteristics and other features of the proposed modern solid waste management facility were presented to participants at the forum which was held at Kpone .