The Minister for Environment, Science and Technology, Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed, has announced plans to expand assistance and grants for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in recycling to help manage plastic waste.
He said this during a visit to some SMEs under the ‘Establishing a Circular Economy Framework for the Plastic Sector in Ghana’ (CEF-PS) project.
The Minister who doubles as the MP for Tamale Central, in a media engagement, said beyond the support, they will also monitor them to ensure that the funds are put to good use.
“Some would argue that a lot of plastic waste are gotten in Greater Accra. About 60% of the waste that we produce are from Greater Accra and we are able to process just 10% of the plastic waste that we generate in this country, so the question is, the other 90% what happens to it?”
“We are looking forward to expanding this particular assistance and grants to a lot of entities who are engaged and having the expertise to manage the plastics that we have in the country. We will not only approve the money for them, but I would also ensure that we supervise and monitor their operations,” he said.
Dr. Ibrahim Murtala Muhammed emphasised that the project is targeted at job creation, especially for women.
According to him, “we realised that we live in a country where the majority of the people in this country are women. So, there is the need for some concerted effort in the policy intervention we have to gear towards bringing to par our women, sisters and mothers who may also be very useful… and they are indeed useful. Their work is not only limited to the home.”
Dr. Muhammed reiterated that even though his interest is how many women are going to benefit from the intervention, men will also be considered but women will be a priority.
“Notwithstanding, that is not to say that we are not interested in men too who are not employed but considering that majority of the people in the country are women, we need to have some affirmative policy decisions so that we can correct some of the injustices,” he noted.
The SMEs the Minister visited include Nel Plastics, Universal Plastic Products and Recycling Company, Integrated Recycling and Compost Plants Ltd., among others.
