Germany to support Ghana to deal with electronic waste challenges
Ghana and Germany have pledged to work together to tackle the country’s growing problem with electronic waste materials (e-waste).
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The two countries have also agreed to pool resources towards the implementation of a sustainable e-waste management system.
The Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovations, Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, and the Deputy Head of Mission at the German Embassy, Mr Bernard Abels, made the pledge at a workshop for experts in e-waste in Accra yesterday.
The workshop was part of a series of training programmes aimed at preparing and equipping experts from the Ministry and the German Embassy on the project.
In 2009, Ghana received 215,000 tonnes of e-waste, made up of 30 per cent new products and 70 per cent second-hand.
Germany’s commitment
As part of its commitment to the agreement, the German government will provide Ghana with €25 million for the establishment of structures for effective collection and recycling of e-waste in the country.
Mr Abels said the fund would be spread across a number of projects, including a pilot programme that would alleviate the environmental impact of e-waste in Ghana.
“Germany will commit five million euros to a technical cooperation programme. A further 20 million euros will be dedicated to the establishment of an incentive mechanism for the sound collection and recycling of e-waste, as well as for setting up a collection centre in Ghana,” he said.
According to him, the partnership between Ghana and Germany was a decision by the two countries to strengthen cooperation in the field of electronic waste management and recycling.
He congratulated Ghana on passing the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Law in 2016, saying that the passage of the law would go a long way to help address e-waste challenges in the country.
Ghana’s willingness
For his part, Prof. Frimpong-Boateng said the government was willing to implement programmes targeted at managing e-waste in the country.
“Working on sustainable solutions for e-waste management allows us the opportunity to pursue different development goals,” he said.
He added that addressing challenges with e-waste would help reduce environmental pollution and also abate health risks.
According to him, it would further improve working conditions of many scrap dealers and enhance the development of recycling industries.
Commendation
Prof. Frimpong-Boateng commended the German government for the support and urged stakeholders, including the Environmental Protection Agency and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, to coordinate their activities towards the successful implementation of the project.