Thank you, Mr Speaker. I want to contribute to the Motionregarding the Report on the Hazardousand Electronic Waste Control andManagement Bill, 2016. Mr Speaker, every law is seen to be atool for development. The process inlegislating this Bill to become a law seeksto control and manage hazardous,electrical and electronic wastes in ourcountry. Mr Speaker, waste in general, in myview, is seen to be an integral part ofnature. That is why every one of us heregenerates waste every day. There are different forms of waste. So,we as individuals, generate liquid wasteevery day. There is also the solid waste. Mr Speaker, but in this context, we arelooking at hazardous waste, which couldbe chemical, biological, electrical or evenmechanical in nature. We have medicalwaste from our hospitals. As a country, the control andmanagement of these wastes becomes aproblem for us. If we go to the Korle-Bu TeachingHospital or even the district hospitals inthis country, how do they dispose of thebiological or medical waste? Mr Speaker,so this Bill will look at the control andmanagement of all these wastes. Mr Speaker, again, the Bill looks athazardous waste that we can also exportfrom our country to other countries; notnecessarily our country as a destinationfor hazardous waste from developedcountries. But we can also exporthazardous waste from our country to anyother part of the world.
Mr Speaker, it is on that basis thatthe part one of this Bill, which deals withhazardous waste, is hinged upon theinternational Basel Convention. As a country, we are a party to theBasel Convention, which deals with howto control and manage transboundarymovement of hazardous waste. So, in Ghana, hazardous waste canpass through our land and find itsdestination in Burkina Faso, Ivory Coastor in Mali. But there must be a legalframework where we can regulate, controland manage how to transit all these wastesso that it does not affect humanity andthe echo-system that we have in thiscountry. Mr Speaker, as the Hon Ministerindicated, the Bill also would allow for theestablishment of a fund. The fund wouldlook at the collection of electrical andelectronic waste, how we can pay for that,how we can process it, how we can collectall the electrical and electronic waste andeven export them to a country like theNetherlands where there is a processingplant for it to be processed into othergoods. Mr Speaker, if we talk about hazardouswaste, it can also serve as a raw base forthe production of other goods andservices in the whole world. So, it mustnot be seen that it is such a material whichis dangerous to mankind. But once it ishandled and managed well, it can beprocessed into other useful products orgoods. Mr Speaker, the establishment of thefund as I indicated, would support howwe can collect, transport and manage justlike we have the Common Fund; we usepart of it in the control and managementof our solid waste -- We have Zoomlionwhich is undertaking solid waste
management for us. We are aware that inour various constituencies and districts,we use part of our Common Fund for thepayment of all these services. Mr Speaker, so electrical and electronicwaste is also crucial for us. The HonMinister sited Agbogbloshie as anexample, but it is not only that area. Alongthe pylons of East Legon, one wouldnotice how our brothers and sisters forthe purposes of their livelihood burn someof these electrical and electronic items justto obtain some components they can sellto make some money. So, if there is a legal framework thatprivate entities can undertake business,then all these people can be brought onboard to do collection to transport theseto assembling or processing plants --That would be useful. Mr Speaker, it is on this note that theReport that has been submitted by ourCommittee must be adopted for theconsideration of the Bill. Question put and Motion agreed to. The Hazardous and Electronic WasteControl and Management Bill, 2016 wasread a Second time.
