Ghana’s parliament has passed the Hazardous and Electronic Waste Control and Management Bill 2016, which the government intends using to fight environmental pollution associated with the illegal dumping of electronic waste.
With the country importing around 215,000 tonnes of secondhand consumer electronics from abroad every year, which in turn causes over 129,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, there have been calls for a ban on the importation of these products due to the environmental and health challenges they pose.
Apart from the intention to use the law to control the hazardous electronic wastes, it will also ensure a vibrant recycling system to save the environment, especially Agbogbloshie, which is considered the world’s biggest e-waste dump site.
Speaking to Class News, Chairman of the Environment, Science and Technology, Simon Edem Asimah said as part of the law, an eco-levy will be introduced for importers of electronics to provide additional revenue for the country.
“Electrical and electronic waste in the country has created a number of problems: the computers, fridges, the second-hand television sets, so this law is actually to address those challenges that as a developing country we are facing”, he stated.
“If you go to Agbogbloshie, you can see how our brothers and sisters are involved in the treatment of the waste. So this law is to make sure before you bring in any electronics, you have to go through certain processes…critically, we are establishing a fund and before you import anything, the laws of the European countries have it that you pay an eco-levy and now we are establishing a fund into which that levy, which is paid by an importer, will be deposited…” Mr Asimah added.
But Ranking member of the select committee on Environment, Science and Technology, Francis Addai-Nimoh wants the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to be in charge of the collection of the levy, rather than the entity appointed to do so per the bill.
“The fund that is to be established under the act, one of the main sources of revenue to it is the eco-levy and that eco-levy, you have to assess all the electronic items coming into your country, place a value on them and then the importer or manufacturer will be mandated or required to pay that money and I was trying to propose that the collection of that money should be decoupled from the technical function of the assessment of the value to be paid, so that in terms of the recipient of the money, it should be directly payable to a state institution like the Ghana Revenue Authority, but here is the case you have the same entity to do the assessment”, he stated.
Source: Ghana/AccraFM.com/100.5fm
