News
Nigerian vessel pays fine
to Ghana government for dumping toxic waste
A Nigerian vessel, Spirit River, that dumped toxic waste at an
engineered landfill site at Sofokrom in the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolis last year, has paid a penalty of $220,000 to the
Ghana government.
The Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi-Takoradi
Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), Mr Opoku Boateng told the Ghana
News Agency in an interview in Sekondi.
The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST)
spearheaded the move for the compensation.
Mr Boateng noted that since the toxic waste was deposited within
the territory of the Metropolis as well as a facility
constructed by the assembly, the people in the twin-city must
benefit from the compensation given to the government.
The assembly had officially petitioned the MEST for a portion of
the amount for a project that would benefit the people in the
metropolis.
In March 2011, the vessel berthed at the Takoradi Port for a
special operation, contracted a Takoradi-based waste management
company to the dump toxic waste without authorisation from the
government and STMA.
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