The Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has assured that Zoomlion Ghana Limited remains committed to delivering tailor-made solutions toward an integrated waste management system in the country.
In view of the above, he said, plans are already underway by his company to expand its recycling and composting facilities across its areas of operations from 3,000 tonnes a day to 10,000 tonnes.
This, he maintained, will enable the country to effectively manage waste.
He pledged that the private sector will continue to support government in its efforts to improve on sanitation in the country.
According to Dr. Siaw Agyepong, government has been instrumental in construction of the sixteen (16) state-of-the-art integrated recycling compost plants (IRECoP) in the16 regions, all in an effort to deal with waste.
He, therefore, commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for encouraging the private sector to be active players in his government, and for them to contribute their quota to the development of Ghana.
Dr. Siaw Agyepong was delivering a presentation at a two-day stakeholder engagement workshop organised by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) with support from UNICEF on Friday, September 23, 2022 in Accra.
In his presentation on Private Involvement in the Sanitation Sub-sector Performance 2018 -2021 and Outlook Performance for 2022-2025, he admitted that the 16 IRECoPs could not have been made possible without “active involvement” by the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Honourable Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah,
He said the sanitation minister also played a crucial role in a €16million facility given to his group by Hungary, which was used in the construction of waste management facilities in the 16 regions.
The minister of sanitation and water resources also helped in the country’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic via disinfection and distribution of one million bins, he added.
However, to achieve greater results and sustain gains made in the sector, Dr. Siaw Agyepong reiterated the need for all stakeholders’ involvement in the sanitation space.
“l urge each and every one to help maintain a serene environment; you can’t do away with poverty if you don’t deal with water and sanitation,” he advised.
The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, strongly called for protection of the country’s water-bodies.
She said this is crucial, especially in light of the fact that these water-bodies serve as sources of potable water for Ghanaians.
According to the minister, her ministry will build more public places of convenience across the country as part of measures to stop the practice of disposing faeces into water-bodies.
“…and it is my prayer that by 2030, Ghana will be where it’s supposed to be in terms of sanitation,” she optimistically expressed.
She underscored that her ministry takes the issue of water and personal hygiene very seriously.
She went on to give firm assurance that the MSWR is ready to upscale sanitation concerns nationwide, adding that measures have already been put in place to support good environmental practices in the country’s schools.
Waste, she said, is wealth; and therefore urged Ghanaians to engage in recycling waste.
She also reiterated that her ministry will continue collaborating with other sectors and institutions to make the president’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa come to fruition.
She disclosed that the water policy is ready to be validated, and thus pleaded with the Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) to extend pipe-borne water to rural dwellers.
On this score, Mrs. Dapaah heaped praise on donor partners such as UNICEF for supporting her ministry.
