Minister Mahama Ayariga announced that the government is deploying drones and artificial intelligence to assess the volume of waste at Agbogbloshie as part of a major operation to clear the decades‑old heap in Accra.
The exercise will involve hundreds of trucks, heavy‑duty equipment and personnel from several institutions, including the Ghana Armed Forces, Jospong Group and private contractors. Technical teams will use drones and AI to map the site and determine logistical requirements.
During his first week in office, Ayariga visited the site three times and climbed to the top of the waste mountain, estimating its height at about ten storeys. He said the heap had reached an alarming scale that makes its removal a national priority.
President John Dramani Mahama has directed the Ministries of Local Government, Finance, Roads and Highways and Defence to jointly develop a comprehensive evacuation plan. The waste will be transported to an engineered landfill off Nsawam Road, with a 24‑hour operation under consideration pending final arrangements and presidential approval.
Ayariga warned that the movement of large numbers of trucks could temporarily disrupt traffic but urged Ghanaians to accept the inconvenience, stating, “Let all of us be inconvenienced by the problem, and if we are all sufficiently inconvenienced by the problem, the danger of reverting to the problem will be minimised.”
