The influence of government enabling environment on the quality of solid waste collection delivered by the private sector

The need to tackle Solid Waste Management (SWM) problems has become crucial especially in an era where environmental issues have become an integral part of achieving sustainable development. In recent times, SWM has become an impossible task for local governments. The continuous increase in solid waste generation as a result of urbanization and high consumption rates inhibits local governments, especially those of cities in developing countries, of which Madina and Adenta are no exception, from providing solid waste services according to the desired quality. Most cities are characterized by uncollected waste in centres and corners of cities and streets, indiscriminate disposal of solid waste, gutters clogged with waste resulting in flooding, stagnant pools of water creating the platform for mosquitoes and the ensuing prevalence of malaria, polluted water and the environment causing series of cholera outbreaks. To solve this menace, private sector involvement in SWM was introduced in Ghana considering the notion that the private sector is more effective than the public sector. Having been the agency solely responsible for the collection, transportation and disposal of solid waste in Madina and Adenta from 2008, private sector provision of solid waste collection has been very effective in Madina. However, with the operation of the private sector in Adenta for 8 years now, there has not been maximum efficiency and massive improvement in solid waste collection. Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste continuously persists and all forms of waste are found at unauthorized locations in the municipality including drains, uncompleted buildings and along the streets. This situation denotes failure on the part of the private sector to deliver solid waste collection services according to the desired level. Literature confirms that certain pre-conditions and an enabling environment such as existence and enforcement of policies, bye-laws and legal and regulatory frameworks and institutional capacities of the public sector must be created to enable the private sector deliver improved quality of services. The study therefore sought to determine which conditions in Madina makes the private sector more effective than that of Adenta. It is against this background that the study sought to determine the extent to which government enabling environment influences the quality of solid waste collection delivered by the private sector. The study adopted a case study research strategy and interviewed professionals in the Madina and Adenta Municipalities as well as private sector companies to enquire what enabling environment was created to support the private sector to deliver an improved quality of service. Questionnaires were also administered at the household level to ascertain from users the quality of solid waste collection received. Data collected from the field was analyzed using Atlas ti and Ms Excel. Findings of the study indeed revealed that the existence and enforcement of policies, bye-laws strong institutional capacities of the public sector, performance monitoring and environmental sanitation education contribute to an improved quality of service delivery of solid waste collection by the private sector. It was revealed that the private sector in Madina are able to collect 90% of solid waste generated unlike Adenta where only 25% of solid waste generated is collected. Service users in Madina were extremely satisfied with the services rendered whilst those in Adenta were extremely unsatisfied. The reason why the private sector in Madina was effective is because the Madina Municipality observes and enforces the guidelines in the Environmental Sanitation Policy of Ghana which spells out what role each stakeholder should play to ensure that the desired quality of solid waste delivery is attained. The Madina Municipality also has the La Nkwatanang Madina Municipality Bye-Laws that sanctions all defaulters be it private sector companies or individual residents who flout the bye-laws.