Open burning is illegal, killing many people - AMA

She said aside from the two national laws, the AMA’s Byelaw 2017 forbade people from openly burning waste materials.

“Under the AMA law for instance, a person commits an offence when found to be engaged in open burning and when found culpable, one is likely to pay a penalty of not less than 100 penalty units (not less than GHS 1,000/USD 100) and not more than 150 penalty units, or sentenced to prison from three to six months or both,” she explained.

Madam Kuukyi hinted that despite the limited resources, AMA from January to July prosecuted 16 people at the sanitation court in Accra for engaging in burning waste materials in unauthorised areas, including their homes.

“We are going to get tough on people who engage in open burning

The unchecked open burning of waste in Africa is fuelling illness, premature death, and climate change, and needs to be reined in if we are to cut emissions and advance sustainable development within the 2020s, a report authored by D

Phasing out open burning of waste in Africa from a systems perspective would require addressing the structural deficiencies that exist in waste management practices, the report has said.

The report said Sub-Saharan Africa generated around nine percent of global waste as of 2016, or 180 million tonnes.