Group Head of Government Relations and Corporate Affairs at Jospong Group of Companies, Betty Brown Nyadu, has urged journalists to investigate Ghana’s waste management financing, service contracts and pricing arrangements to promote accountability and sustainable sanitation.
According to her, the media must look beyond visible sanitation problems and examine the policies, financial arrangements and institutional decisions shaping the sector.
“Ghana needs the media to report on waste management more than ever before,” she stated.
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Speaking at a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps (PPC) on Thursday, October 15, 2026, Ms Nyadu said waste management is not merely about collecting and disposing of rubbish but a national development issue with implications for public health, economic productivity, climate resilience, infrastructure and governance.
She explained that poor waste management could contaminate water sources, degrade land, spread diseases and contribute to air pollution through open burning. The uncontrolled decomposition of organic waste at dump sites also releases methane, which contributes to climate change.
The economic consequences, she added, include disruptions to transportation and commercial activities during flooding, lost productive hours for businesses and increased government expenditure on emergency responses.
She noted that Ghana loses valuable materials that could be recovered, recycled or converted into productive use.
“Waste, therefore, is not simply something to be collected and discarded. It is a development challenge with environmental, social, and economic consequences,” she said.
Ms Nyadu challenged journalists to examine whether Ghana’s waste management system is adequately financed and whether existing contracts reflected the actual cost of delivering services.
She raised questions about delayed payments to service providers, the availability of equipment and infrastructure, the capacity of local authorities and coordination among public institutions.
She also urged the media to investigate whether the policy environment encourages private-sector investment and whether waste collected across the country is being adequately recycled, composted or recovered.
According to her, inadequate financing could result in unpaid obligations, deferred maintenance, insufficient equipment and reduced investment in new facilities, ultimately affecting service quality and sustainability.
She stressed that advocating fair pricing does not mean endorsing 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.
Ms Nyadu called for journalism that examines the underlying causes of sanitation challenges rather than focusing exclusively on their visible consequences.
Journalists, she said, should investigate how waste management contracts were structured, how service providers are paid and whether existing financial arrangements could sustain the services expected by communities.
“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.
She maintained that sustained media scrutiny could help the public understand the financial and institutional decisions influencing sanitation outcomes.
Ms Nyadu stressed that Ghana’s waste management challenges require greater transparency, effective planning and long-term investment to support sustainable sanitation systems.