The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, has issued a final ultimatum to traders and scrap dealers operating illegally at Old Agbogbloshie, following what she described as disturbing environmental and security violations uncovered during an unannounced enforcement tour.
She said the monitoring exercise, conducted with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), the Ablekuma Central Municipal Assembly and the National Disaster Management Organisation (NADMO), revealed continued non-compliance with directives aimed at protecting public health and the environment.
According to her, authorities observed an “unauthorized influx of yam traders returning to the site” despite earlier instructions for them to stay away from the area. More worrying, she said, was the ongoing burning of rubber and electronic waste by scrap dealers.
“This practice poses a severe respiratory hazard to residents and causes significant environmental degradation,” Madam Ocloo said in a post on social media.
She said she had directly engaged the traders and scrap dealers during the visit and issued what she termed a “final notice for evacuation by next month.”
“All parties are advised to relocate their valuables immediately to avoid forfeiture during the upcoming clearance exercise,” she warned.
Beyond the environmental infractions, the Regional Minister disclosed that the operation also uncovered what she described as serious economic sabotage within the scrap metal trade.
As part of the exercise, officials inspected the operations of N-Nest Metal Company and BlancoMet-Recycling, where they allegedly discovered “a significant cache of specialised cables and transformer components.”
Technical officers from the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) were invited to verify the items, and, according to Madam Ocloo, they “officially confirmed that these items include ECG underground cables and critical transformer parts, which are state property and not for commercial trade.”
She further accused the two companies of complicity in the theft of state assets, noting that their actions directly undermine power supply stability.
“Both companies have been found complicit in the procurement and possession of stolen state infrastructure, which directly contributes to power instabilities and economic sabotage,” the post said.
Madam Ocloo stressed that the Greater Accra Regional Co-ordinating Council would not tolerate the destruction or theft of public utility infrastructure, assuring the public that security agencies had been engaged to pursue the matter.
“We are working closely with the relevant security agencies to ensure that the management of N-Nest Metal Company and BlancoMet-Recycling face the full rigours of the law,” she said.
