{"id":3002,"date":"2026-10-18T19:14:30","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T19:14:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/?p=3002"},"modified":"2026-10-18T19:14:33","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T19:14:33","slug":"jospong-group-executive-urges-media-to-sustain-focus-on-waste-management-beyond-crises","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/parliamentnews360.com\/index.php\/jospong-group-executive-urges-media-to-sustain-focus-on-waste-management-beyond-crises\/","title":{"rendered":"Jospong Group Executive Urges Media to Sustain Focus on Waste Management Beyond Crises"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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By Clement Akoloh \u2013 parliamentnews360.com<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Betty Browne calls for investigative reporting on financing, contracts and policies to promote sustainable sanitation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Co-Head of Government Relations for the waste management sector of the Jospong Group of Companies, which includes Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Betty Browne, has urged the Parliamentary Press Corps to sustain public attention on waste management issues beyond periods of environmental disasters and sanitation crises.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said the media must move beyond reporting visible piles of refuse, choked drains and flooding to investigate the policies, financing arrangements, institutional responsibilities and investment decisions that determine the sustainability of Ghana\u2019s waste management system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Addressing a two-day workshop for members of the Parliamentary Press Corps at Parliament House, Ms. Browne spoke on the topic: \u201cWaste Management in Ghana: Why the Media Must Speak, Why Parliament Must Act and Why Ghana Cannot Afford to Remain Silent.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

She described journalists as critical actors in Ghana\u2019s democratic governance, with the power to shape public understanding, influence national conversations and hold public institutions accountable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Media urged to prioritise preventive reporting<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Browne called for a shift from reactive disaster reporting to sustained coverage of the systems and policies needed to prevent sanitation-related emergencies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGhana needs the media to report on waste management more than ever before. Not only when our drains are choked, not only when floods have destroyed homes and businesses, not only when refuse is accumulated on our streets, not only when a sanitation crisis has become impossible to ignore,\u201d she stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said journalists must pay greater attention to the policies, economics, financial arrangements, institutional responsibilities and investment decisions that determine whether waste can be managed sustainably.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to her, waiting until sanitation challenges become major news events often means the underlying problems have existed for years, making their eventual resolution more expensive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy the time waste management becomes a headline about a disaster, then the main problem may have existed for many years and by the time the consequences become visible, the cost of addressing them may already be significantly very high,\u201d she warned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Waste management linked to public health and economic development<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Jospong Group executive identified waste management as a multidimensional development issue with implications for public health, the economy, climate resilience, infrastructure and governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWaste management is a public health issue. It’s an economic issue. It’s a climate resilience issue. It is an infrastructure issue. It is a governance issue and most importantly, it is a national development issue,\u201d she stressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that the consequences of poorly managed waste extend beyond the accumulation of refuse, contributing to flooding, infrastructure damage, water contamination, the spread of diseases, air pollution and methane emissions from waste disposal sites.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cChoked drains contribute to flooding which damages homes, markets, businesses and public infrastructure. Contaminated water sources degrade land and create conditions that encourage the spread of disease. Open burning of waste contributes to air pollution while the uncontrolled decomposition of organic waste on our dump sites releases methane,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She further highlighted the economic losses associated with inadequate waste management, including disruptions to commercial activities, reduced productivity and public expenditure on emergencies that could have been prevented or mitigated through effective planning and infrastructure investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Browne also lamented the loss of valuable materials that could be recovered, recycled and put to productive use, arguing that waste should be treated as a development challenge rather than simply something to collect and discard.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Questions raised over waste management financing<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Browne questioned why waste management does not receive consistent public attention despite its significant consequences for communities, businesses and national development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She challenged journalists and policymakers to examine whether Ghana’s waste management system is adequately financed and whether existing contracts and service arrangements are sustainable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She warned that financial pressures on service providers could affect service delivery and limit investment in new facilities, ultimately undermining the quality, reliability and sustainability of waste management services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, she clarified that calls for fair pricing should not be interpreted as an endorsement of every charge imposed by service providers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She therefore urged the media to scrutinise how waste management services are priced, how contracts are structured, how payments are made and whether existing arrangements can sustain the services expected by the public.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe therefore need the media to investigate how waste management services are priced, how contracts are structured, how payments are made and whether the arrangement in place can sustain the services Ghanaians expect,\u201d she charged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Call for stronger parliamentary scrutiny<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ms. Browne’s address also placed emphasis on the role of Parliament in ensuring that waste management policies, financing arrangements and institutional responsibilities receive sustained scrutiny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her appeal to the Parliamentary Press Corps was for journalists to use their platforms to deepen public understanding of the decisions that shape sanitation outcomes, while holding relevant institutions and stakeholders accountable for their responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She urged the media to move the national conversation away from short-term reactions to visible sanitation problems towards preventive action, transparency and long-term solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe need a kind of journalism that can move the national conversation from reaction to prevention, from complaints to accountability and from short-term interventions to lasting solutions,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her remarks underscored the need for sustained media coverage of waste management as a matter of public policy, economic sustainability and national development, rather than an issue that attracts attention only when sanitation emergencies occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source: parliamentnews360.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Co-Head of Government Relations for the waste management sector of the Jospong Group of Companies, which includes Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Betty Browne, has urged the Parliamentary Press Corps to sustain public attention on waste management issues beyond periods of environmental disasters and sanitation crises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3003,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[51,1],"tags":[1785,1782,193,782,494,1786,1783,1784],"class_list":{"0":"post-3002","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general-news","9":"tag-betty-browne","10":"tag-jospong-group","11":"tag-parliament-of-ghana","12":"tag-parliamentary-press-corps","13":"tag-parliamentnews360-com","14":"tag-sanitation-crisis","15":"tag-waste-management","16":"tag-zoomlion"},"yoast_head":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\t\n\t\n\n\n\t\n