The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), is to abrogate contracts of non-performing solid waste management contractors within the next three months if they fail to improve on their operations.

The companies are Liberty, Mesworld, Yafuru, Ayittey Brothers Waste Management Contractors and Dapeng Cleaning Services.

The Chief Executive of AMA, Mr Alfred Oko Vanderpuije, announced these at the First Ordinary Meeting of the Second Session of the Fifth AMA, in Accra on Wednesday.

He said areas of operations of the companies had been reduced so that they could improve their performances, and new contractors had been assigned to help improve sanitation in the metropolis.

Mr Vanderpuije said, under the Polluter Pay System, waste management contractors were expected to register households, provide bins and clear them of garbage on regular basis.

He said during President John Evans Atta Mills recent trip to the USA, he signed a Memoradum of Understanding with Exim Bank and secured a 590 million dollar loan for the construction of storm drains, sewage lines and water retention reservoirs, to prevent flooding in Accra.

Mr. Vanderpuije said Parliament was yet to approve the loan for work to begin, and added that the Legon Sewerage Project, would solve sewerage problems when completed.

He said the sewerage would serve the University of Ghana, Presbyterian Boys School, Institute of Professional Studies, and it would in future include Haatso, East and West Legon, Okponglo and Madina.

Mr Vanderpuije said that emptying of liquid waste directly into the sea at Lavender Hill in Accra would end by June 2012, after six anaerobic digesters had been built at the site to change liquid waste into organic waste.

The digesters would remove odour, pathogens and greenhouse gas from animal waste or sewerage sludge and use them for manure.

Mr Vanderpuije said the AMA had completed 28 out of 53 public toilets being constructed in the metropolis and 5,000 pan latrines in Accra had been reduced to 1,071 in 2011 and 576 as at March 2012 and expected to eliminate all pan latrines by the end of the year.

On households without toilets, he said the campaign to encourage house owners to provide toilets had yielded positive result, and noted that in Ayawaso Central, household without toilets have been reduced from 7,600 to 3,750.

At Ayawaso East, it has been reduced from 5,347 to 2,917, Ayawaso West from 7,137 to 1,701, Ablekuma South from 5,547 to 3,719, Ablekuma Central from 8,147 to 4,427 and Ablekuma North from 8,366to 5,555.

The rest are Okaikoi North from 5,770 to 4,457, Okaikoi South from 4,989 to 2,108, Ashiedu Keteke from 4,611 to 3,074, Osu Klottey from 11,367 to 6,267 and La from 6,087 to 3,112.

Mr Vanderpuije said a programme to give selected markets in Accra a facelift would begin in May this year.

He said it would involve construction of drains and the general rehabilitation of structures in the markets as part of the Government’s better Ghana agenda.

The Maamobi, Nima and Mallam Atta, Osu, La, and the Tuesday markets would be beneficiaries.**