President Mahama orders activation of six idle Zoomlion transfer stations to collect flood waste
President John Dramani Mahama has directed the immediate operationalisation of six waste transfer stations managed by Zoomlion Ghana Limited to enhance refuse evacuation and improve waste management across the Greater Accra Region following the recent floods.
The transfer stations, constructed about nine years ago but left unused, are expected to ease the burden on waste collectors, who have had to travel long distances to disposal sites instead of using nearby transfer facilities.
Speaking during the National General Clean-up Exercise at Alajo in Accra on Saturday, President Mahama said the stations must begin operating without delay.
“Unfortunately, they were not put into operation. So, we have asked the contractor, Zoomlion, to open the transfer stations so that the tricycles and others can take the garbage to the transfer stations,” he said.
The President noted that one of the recurring challenges during previous clean-up exercises was that refuse removed from drains and gutters was often left along roadsides, only to be washed back into the drains by subsequent rainfall.
The six transfer stations, located at Achimota, Teshie, Kpone, Ashaiman, Pantang and Adipa, will function as temporary waste collection centres where refuse will be compacted before being transported to final treatment and disposal facilities, including the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant (ACARP) and the Accra Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP).
To support the operation, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has deployed 150 haulage trucks, 30 compactors, road sweepers, more than 2,000 tricycle waste operators and over 1,000 field personnel. The company also added 60 long-haul trailers on the second day of the clean-up exercise to increase waste evacuation capacity.
Additionally, more than 2,000 sanitation workers, together with heavy-duty equipment and logistics, were mobilised to support the two-day nationwide clean-up exercise in flood-affected communities.
President Mahama explained that activating the transfer stations would ensure that refuse collected during the clean-up exercise is immediately transported for proper disposal rather than being left in communities.
He said tricycle operators and other waste collectors had been instructed to transport waste to the nearest transfer station, where heavy-duty trucks would move it to approved treatment and disposal sites.
Although he commended the public for the massive participation in the exercise, the President acknowledged that the sheer volume of waste generated by the floods meant the work could not be completed within the scheduled two days.
He announced that the Ghana Armed Forces and other state agencies would continue the evacuation exercise after the official clean-up campaign to ensure all waste removed from drains, roads and public spaces is properly disposed of.
President Mahama appealed to residents who had not yet joined the exercise to participate actively, stressing that maintaining a clean environment is a shared national responsibility.
He said the operationalisation of the transfer stations marked a significant step towards building a more efficient and sustainable waste management system for Accra.
According to him, improving sanitation requires not only investments in infrastructure but also responsible waste disposal habits among residents to prevent drains from becoming choked again.
Expressing optimism about the city's recovery, he said sustained collaboration between government, the private sector and citizens would enable Accra to recover from the recent floods.
“Ghana is a resilient country, Accra is a resilient city, and we will bounce back better than before,” the President stated.
Responding to the directive, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Joseph Siaw Agyepong, welcomed the decision and reaffirmed Zoomlion's commitment to supporting government efforts to improve environmental sanitation.
He explained that the second day of the exercise had largely become a large-scale waste evacuation operation because of the enormous volume of refuse removed from homes, drains and public spaces.
Mr. Agyepong said Zoomlion, working with the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA), Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) and other stakeholders, had expanded operations across all 29 MMDAs in the Greater Accra Region.
He noted that waste collected during the exercise would be channelled through the designated transfer stations before being transported to approved treatment and disposal facilities to ensure debris is not left in communities.
He also appealed to residents to support ongoing sanitation efforts by adopting proper waste disposal practices, observing that much of the refuse removed during the exercise had accumulated over many years.
The activation of the transfer stations forms part of the government's response to the devastating floods that affected seven regions and prompted the declaration of the two-day National General Clean-up Exercise under the theme, "Our Actions, Our Future: Cleaning Ghana After the Floods."
The exercise was attended by Vice President Prof. Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, the King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, Governor of the Bank of Ghana Dr. Johnson Pandit Asiama, First Deputy Governor Dr. Zakari Mumuni, Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs Ahmed Ibrahim, Greater Accra Regional Minister Linda Ocloo, Accra Metropolitan Assembly Chief Executive Michael Kpakpo Allotey, security agencies, MMDAs, volunteers and thousands of residents.
Clean-up activities focused on flood-prone communities and major public areas, including Alajo, Tse Addo, Nungua Market, Agbogbloshie Market and Kwame Nkrumah Circle, where participants desilted drains, cleared debris and evacuated refuse to reduce the risk of future flooding.