Tema’s mayor, Ebi Bright, said Ghana’s main industrial city will begin rolling out pilot projects on greening, drainage and waste management as part of a plan to position Tema as Africa’s benchmark for climate-smart industrial transformation by 2035.
The initiative is being pursued through the Tema Face-Lift Campaign, which the assembly says is focused on environmental resilience, structured sanitation systems and climate-conscious urban planning, rather than beautification alone.
Projects currently being developed include identifying public spaces for greening, assessing drainage patterns for potential rain harvesting, and engaging residents through participatory planning.
A key component is the formalisation of Tema’s Aboboya waste collection system, which is an informal tricycle waste collection system. The assembly plans to professionalise the work of the collectors, integrate them with licensed waste firms, improve waste segregation and reduce methane emissions.
In the coming months, the city expects to convene a Climate Stakeholder Forum to align local priorities and share lessons from Germany. The forum is also expected to support a mapping exercise to identify flood-prone zones, public spaces for greening and public facilities where rain harvesting systems can be introduced.
Over the next two years, the assembly plans to green public spaces and road reservations using rain-harvesting systems for year-round maintenance, establish a formal waste collection framework that integrates Aboboyas, and introduce climate considerations into building permits and development control. A climate communications campaign involving youth groups, traditional leaders and community organisations is also planned.
Structures deemed to have been illegally placed in parts of the city, have been removed by the assembly, with periodic clean-up exercises seen around the city.
By 2035, Tema aims to develop climate-smart economic zones, strengthen coastal protection and build a pipeline of young professionals trained in climate-responsive urban management, the mayor said.
