Editorial: Kudos to AMA for increasing allowance of street sweepers

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has announced a 100 per cent increase in the monthly allowance of street sweepers, raising it from GH?400 to GH?800. The decision, disclosed by Accra Mayor Michael Nii Kpakpo Allotey, is intended to professionalise sanitation work, improve the welfare of sweepers and attract more young people into the sector.

According to the Mayor, the wage increase aligns with the government’s 24-Hour Economy policy, under which sanitation services in Accra have been expanded into a round-the-clock operation. Waste collection and street cleaning are now expected to continue at night to reduce traffic congestion during the day and improve overall urban cleanliness.

Mayor Allotey argued that fair compensation is essential for productivity and sustainability, noting that GH?800 offers a more competitive entry-level income, especially at a time when inflation has moderated. He urged other metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies to consider similar pay adjustments to help reduce youth unemployment and strengthen local economies.

The Chronicle welcomes the Accra Metropolitan Assembly’s decision to double the allowance of street sweepers. For too long, sanitation workers have been among the most underpaid and undervalued in Ghana’s public service chain. Paying GH?400 a month to individuals who sweep Accra’s streets daily was not only unjust; it was economically unrealistic. It was a case of employers pretending to pay whilst employees pretend to work.

By raising the allowance to GH?800, the AMA has acknowledged a basic truth, no city can be cleaner than the value it places on those who clean it. In that respect, Mayor Allotey’s action is commendable and sends a strong signal to other assemblies that sanitation must be treated as skilled, essential work, not charity employment.

That said, higher wages alone will not clean Accra.

The Chronicle has, on numerous occasions, witnessed a troubling contradiction in the capital. Just last Thursday, we observed a large heap of refuse dumped at the Spanner bus stop around Tetteh Quarshie Interchange at where commuters are meant to sit and wait for transport while police officers directed traffic nearby. This scene is not unusual. Sweepers work daily, yet some residents deliberately litter public spaces with impunity.

This points to a deeper problem: weak enforcement of sanitation laws and a culture of indiscipline that undermines even the best policies.

If the AMA truly wants value for the increased wage bill, it must strengthen prosecution of sanitation offenders, empower environmental health officers and revive public education campaigns. Without deterrence, the burden of cleanliness unfairly falls on sweepers while habitual offenders face no consequences.

 

There is also the question of sustainability. Assemblies across the country are already struggling with delayed DACF releases and rising operational costs. If the wage increase is not backed by stable funding, improved waste revenue collection and private-sector partnerships, it risks becoming another well-intentioned policy that collapses under financial strain.

Finally, the 24-hour sanitation model must be carefully managed. Night work requires proper lighting, protective gear, supervision and security. Without these, extended shifts could expose workers to new risks, undermining the very welfare gains the policy seeks to achieve.

The Chronicle believes the AMA has taken a bold and humane step. But paying sweepers better must be matched with stricter law enforcement, sustained funding, public responsibility, and institutional discipline. A clean Accra is not the duty of sweepers alone; it is a shared civic obligation.

 

 

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