By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, Nov. 15, GNA – The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in partnership with the Mayors Migration Council (MMC), a coalition of Mayors around the world, has organised an anti-discrimination workshop for the informal waste sector workers in Accra.
The workshop sought to guard against biases and discrimination meted out to workers in the informal waste sector, particularly migrants, and help address challenges that undermined their work.
It also looked at policy directions and actions that had been taken to reduce discrimination and ensure a more inclusive society.
Mr Victor Kotei, the Deputy Director for Waste Management, AMA, said the contributions of the informal waste workers had been significant in improving sanitation in Accra.
“The sector abounds with business opportunities, let’s explore these opportunities for the benefit of the people. Meanwhile, I encourage stakeholders to put in more efforts to make the work dignified and reduce the stigma associated with it,” he said.
Mr Evans Asamoah Adjei, Resilience Officer, City of Accra and Project Lead, Green Project, urged that migrants who had been providing cleaning services could be properly integrated though some may have used unauthorised routes into the country.
He said: “Many people migrate from places to the central Business District for greener pastures because of economic reasons and if we don’t begin to have a desk that looks at these issues then as a city, we may have a lot of challenges.”
Some factors identified to be impeding the work of the workers were insecurity due to a lack of trust, stereotyping based on appearance, low self-esteem, cultural insensitivity and language barriers, conflicts with internal waste contractors, accommodation and security challenges and limited accessibility to health facilities.
As part of efforts to address the stigma, two stakeholder engagements were held for both migrant informal waste workers and staff of the AMA to dialogue and give recommendations to ensure inclusivity whilst protecting the rights of the workers.
Data collection exercises, provision of intensive and continuous education on health and social issues, education about the influx of foreign migrants in the waste value chain and providing interpreters to address language barriers were some recommendations made to minimise the challenges.
The Mayors Migration Council (MMC) is a coalition of Mayors around the world that accelerates ambitious global actions on migration to create a world where urban migrants and displaced people can thrive.
GNA