A towering refuse dump near Rashadiya Islamic Primary School grew so noxious that education officials had no choice but to shut it down in 2023, scattering students and teachers across the Upper East Regional capital.
“We are not happy that the school has been closed, so now some of our children have to move to very far schools,” said Bawa Zakari, a parent in the Damweo community. “But their health is important.”
The closure stands as a stark symbol of how far Bolgatanga has fallen since 2004, when it was crowned Ghana’s cleanest city. Today, the municipality of nearly 140,000 residents grapples with mounting waste, illegal dumping and questions about whether the crisis stems from lax enforcement or deep-rooted behavioral problems among residents.
At Jubilee Park, rubbish carpets the grounds. Behind the municipal environmental health offices, an abandoned toilet facility has become an informal dump site. Across the city, waste piles grow unchecked.
“Seriously speaking, in 2004, Bolga was glorified as the neatest town in Ghana,” said Municipal Chief Executive Roland Atanga Ayoo. “Today we cannot claim that glory, and it is embarrassing.”
The Blame Game
Residents and officials remain divided on the root cause.
Assembly member Emmanuel Ayamga places responsibility squarely on attitudes. “The issue of sanitation in Bolgatanga municipality to me, I think it has to do with attitude more than enforcement,” he said. “Everyone is aware of the goodness of living in a healthy environment, but we are adamant.”
Isaac Ayinbota, another resident, agreed. “We all know what is good, so why should we wait for someone to come and tell us what to do in the name of law enforcement? People have to start being responsible.”
But others point to absent authorities. Thomas Donkor, 65, who has lived in Bolgatanga for 30 years, said environmental health officers rarely patrol neighborhoods. “We don’t see them going around to ensure people do what is right,” he said. “And if they don’t go around and only sit in their offices, people will also do what they want.”
Trader Cynthia Abugpoka said the solution is simple: “The assembly doesn’t do enough to enforce sanitation laws. If they fined people for dumping rubbish anyhow, things will improve quickly.”
Francis Adingo, president of the Upper East Youth Association, sees fault on both sides. “It’s basically lack of enforcement of our laws,” he said. “But it also has to do with our attitude from the days when we were born. We see things to be normal.”
Understaffed and Under-Equipped
Evans Bournaa, the municipal environmental health and sanitation officer, acknowledges the challenges his department faces. With only 21 officers — some assigned to fixed posts at the abattoir and hospital — the team lacks sufficient staff and transportation to monitor the sprawling municipality effectively.
“Sanitation is a collective responsibility requiring continuous effort, not a one-time event,” Bournaa said.
Still, he said help is coming. The assembly has revived sanitation bylaws that are awaiting official gazette publication. Once formalized, enforcement will begin with spot fines and penalties for violations.
“The bylaws have been revived and are in the gazetting process, and enforcement will begin next year,” Bournaa said. “This aims at tackling the poor attitude towards sanitation, which has been a persistent problem in the area.”
Health Toll
The consequences extend beyond aesthetics. The Ghana Health Service recorded 23,799 typhoid cases in Bolgatanga last year alone, linked to unsanitary practices and improper waste disposal.
The crisis also threatens Ghana’s commitment to United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 6, which aims to ensure access to clean water and sanitation for all by 2030.
Fighting Back
Ayoo has assembled a sanitation task force to restore Bolgatanga’s reputation. Lambert Akunzebe, the task force chairman and assembly member for the Bolga-Soe Electoral Area, vowed strict enforcement once the bylaws take effect.
“To me, the residents are not taking sanitation seriously — that is why you see that we are not making progress over the years,” Akunzebe said. “But I can assure you that as chairman of the task force, when the laws take effect, you will see changes in the municipality.”
In September, the government launched National Sanitation Day, designating the first Saturday of each month for nationwide cleanup efforts. But skeptics question whether monthly exercises will succeed without consistent enforcement.
“It’s not about coming out every month,” Adingo said. “People need to take their responsibilities seriously.”
Bournaa sees the initiative as helpful but emphasizes that lasting change must come from communities themselves. He envisions each electoral area organizing its own cleanup activities with local participation, freeing government funds for other priorities like school furniture.
Private Sector Perspective
David Abesiba, director of Cleanmop Company Limited, a waste management firm based in Bolgatanga, identified attitude as the primary problem. Despite awareness campaigns and strategically placed bins throughout the city, people frequently ignore proper disposal methods.
“We have our bins all over, but some will see the bin and still will not put the rubbish in them,” Abesiba said. “So it is our mindset.”
He called for intensified public education campaigns to shift behaviors, noting that enforcement alone cannot solve the crisis when personal relationships often prevent officials from taking action.
Academic Partnership
Bolgatanga Technical University has pledged support for cleanup efforts. Vice Chancellor Samuel Erasmus Alnaa committed to continued collaboration to help the municipality reclaim its former status.
“The university has shown commitment and zeal in helping to curb the menace by always taking part in cleanup exercises,” university officials said.
The Path Forward
Ayoo is calling for collective action from government agencies, private organizations, schools and social welfare institutions. Some progress has emerged, with banking institutions and other businesses taking steps to improve their surroundings.
“Very soon we’ll have the bylaws gazetted, and that will give the laws the backing to work,” Ayoo said. “I think that we should all collectively fight.”
Experts recommend a comprehensive strategy: gazetting and enforcing bylaws with meaningful fines, equipping environmental health officers with adequate staff and vehicles, launching sustained public awareness campaigns, integrating sanitation education into school curricula, and fostering partnerships between government, private sector and community groups.
Whether Bolgatanga can reclaim its 2004 glory remains uncertain. But officials and residents agree that without sustained commitment from all stakeholders — and a fundamental shift in how people view their shared environment — the waste crisis will only deepen.
For now, the closed school in Damweo stands as a reminder of what’s at stake: not just civic pride, but the health and future of the city’s children.
Source: A1 Radio | 101.1 MHz | Reporting by David Azure, Bolgatanga
