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A Nigerian vessel, Spirit River, that dumped toxic waste at an engineered landfill site at Sofokrom in the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolis last year, has paid a penalty of $220,000 dollars to the government. The Public Relations Officer of the Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA), Mr Opoku Boateng told the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Sekondi. The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST) spearheaded the move for the compensation. Mr Boateng noted that since the toxic waste was deposited within the territory of the Metropolis as well as a facility constructed by the assembly, the people in the twin-city must benefit from the compensation given to the government. The assembly had officially petitioned the MEST for a portion of the amount for a project that would benefit the people in the metropolis. In March 2011, the vessel berthed at the Takoradi Port for a special operation, contracted a Takoradi-based waste management company to the dump toxic waste without authorisation from the government and STMA.