Zoomlion Presents Trucks To MMDAs

The tricycles lined-up at the handling over ceremony. Inset: President Mahama addressing the gathering

President John Dramani Mahama on Friday officially handed over 5,000 new motorized tricycles and 400 trucks to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) across the country on behalf of the Jospong/Zoomlion Group of Companies.

The move is to ensure the effective collection of waste in the various towns and cities in Ghana

According to the President, the equipment will be distributed to persons interested in collecting waste.

President Mahama commended the Jospong/Zoomlion Group of companies, saying that its partnership with government over the years in the sanitation sub-sector had yielded positive results for the state.

He said the Group continues to lead in the management of waste in Ghana, adding that rapid urbanization calls for new waste management skills.

The President also appealed to private players to partner government in the management of waste in the country.

Touching on new measures being taken by government to improve the sanitation situation in the country, President Mahama disclosed that he had directed the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to close down the Lavinda Hill site in Accra where liquid waste products from the city are dumped.

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He said with the directive, liquid waste will no longer be dumped in the sea, noting that other assemblies in major cities of the country have been directed to do so.

According to him, government was in the process of ensuring the treatment of liquid waste.

Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong/Zoomlion Group of Companies, in an address, pointed out that beneficiaries of the trucks and tricycles would use them over a period of 18 months after which they will be required to pay back.

He said with the provision of the trucks and tricycles, worth about $50 million, 11,200 jobs are expected to be created for the citizenry.

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BY Melvin Tarlue