Accra Refuse Collectors Threaten Strike

The Refuse Contractors Association, whose members are contracted by the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to collect the huge daily refuse generated in the capital city, are threatening to go on strike if some ?20bn owed them by the AMA is not paid immediately.

AMA’s debt to the refuse collectors stood at nearly ?15.334bn as at December 2002 and no new payments have been made for their services since January this year.

According the BUSINESS & FINANCIAL TIMES , if the strike is not averted, business premises, government offices and private residences alike will be hard hit by the action, since Accra does not have significant logistical capacity for the refuse generated in it to be collected under private arrangements.

Mr. Danny Annang, President of the Contractors Association told the paper that AMA has not paid them since January and therefore called the threat by the assembly to abrogate their contract as a “bluff.”

According to him, the non-payment of the debt is increasingly affecting performance, a problem AMA should solve immediately rather than passing the buck.

The contractors are therefore, insisting on immediate payment of debts and that they would not be able to operate efficiently two weeks from now if their employer (AMA) does not facilitate prompt payment.