Govt procures 126 waste management and disinfection trucks
The government has procured 101 waste management and 25 disinfection trucks to improve sanitation in the country.
The trucks would be used for waste management and disinfection of schools and markets against COVID-19.
The trucks form part of 500 vehicles to be imported into the country by November 2021 by Zoomlion Ghana Limited for use, particularly by Municipal and District Assemblies to assist in the sector.
It is expected that the compacter and disinfection trucks would create about 3,000 direct and indirect jobs for Ghanaians.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony in Accra on Tuesday, June 8, the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, said the trucks would “augment the existing fleet of vehicles to improve waste collection and transportation in the country.”
Beyond this, he stated that this would also contribute to the achievement of SDG three (good health and well-being), six (clean water and sanitation), eight (decent work and economic growth), 11 (sustainable cities and communities), and SDG 13 (climate action).
With the current speed in rapid population growth and consequent increase in human activities at the residential, industrial, and commercial levels, waste generation activities continues to pose a challenge to the country.
Not only that, currently, the total waste that the country generates is about 7,517,514 metric tons.
This situation presents enormous investment opportunities, particularly for the private sector in the sanitation value chain.
The President has therefore called on more sector companies to collaborate with the government in creating business opportunities in the waste management space, such as waste to energy, rotaries recycling and composting.
The gesture by Zoomlion, according to the President, was a “Manifestation of the commitment and progressive elements in the private sector to work with government to deliver quality infrastructure, in this case, addressing the waste management situation in the country.”
He said that the government would continue to create an enabling environment where private sector players will have the opportunity to help provide sustainable waste management services.
The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, encouraged value addition to waste generated in the country.
She indicated that the sector was could provide sustainable income to people through value addition and said, “One man’s rubbish is another man’s treasure.”
The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, of which Zoomlion is a subsidiary, said the procurement of the trucks was to support the government’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.
He urged Ghanaians to support the government and other institutions, including Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in curbing the sanitation menace in the country.
Making Accra the cleanest city in Africa
In 2017, President Akufo-Addo said his government would make Accra the cleanest city on the African continent.
- The promise could not be achieved by the end of the first tenure of President Akufo-Addo’s, though some progress was made.
Nonetheless, the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, has expressed optimism of achieving the goal by 2024.
During her vetting in February this year, she indicated that the Akufo-Addo administration was still on course to fulfilling the promise.
In her estimation, the ‘making Accra the cleanest city’ project, at the time of her vetting, had achieved 85% success.
READ ALSO: Accra Is 85% Clean – Sanitation Minister
She explained that 100% cleanliness was achieved in the capital during the lockdown, but the situation changed after the easing of restrictions on the COVID-19, which saw people making more filth, compared to the lockdown period.
“Accra is on course to become the cleanest city that the President said in absolute terms. I think we are on course, looking at what we started doing and what I continued from my colleague,” the nominee said during her vetting on Tuesday.