ZOOM ALLIANCE PROJECT INAUGRATED

The Minister for Local Government and Rural Development Hon Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, yesterday in Acca, said waste management improvement in general should be viewed as a shared responsibility for all and sundry in the PPP Act.

He therefore understand,the importance for all and sundry to work together to resolve sanitation problem confronting the country and help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Mr Ofosu Ampofo who made the observation at a durber held at Mantse Agbonaa to officially launched the Zoom Alliance Project, by Zoomlion Domestic Waste Service to provide logistical and strategic support for companies participating in the Alliance Agreement.

He said the Alliance would complement other modules such as the Better Ghana Agenda as well as the sanitation improvement package to deal with the waste management menace.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo said waste management was an integral part of city planning in every country, and the Sector Ministry had made efforts to initiate policies to regulate and provide solutions to waste management challenges in Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assembles.

He noted that it had been observed that uncollected waste was dumped indiscriminately in the streets and in drains, obstructing drainage channels, and creating ideal environs for the breeding of insects, rodents which causes diseases.

Mr Ofosu-Ampofo commended efforts of Zoomlion and entreated other companies to take advantage of the project to enable them improve on the quality of service being rendered to ensure client satisfaction.

His conclusion remarks he encouraged other waste management companies to sign on to the Zoom Alliance Concept to procure sufficient bins and equipment to deal with liquid waste generated in their areas of operation.

In his presentation, Mr Haruna Suleiman, Managing Director of Zoomlion Domestic Service, said environmental sanitation and cleanliness remained a vital prerequisite in building a healthy and wealthy nation.

He explained that despite tremendous gains made in waste collection, a great amount of waste generated especially in the urban areas were left uncollected or disposed off by primitive ways such as burning, or burying in pits, or simply left in public places.

Mr Suleiman stressing that the project sought to provide a platform for collaboration with waste management contractors to effectively collect and dispose off waste in Ghana, as well as offer practical means of building professional capacity across the industry.

He reiterated the a fact that it would provide a mutually beneficial financial arrangement that optimises waste collection, provide practical means for capacity building across the wate managing industry and broaden the scope of corporate social responsibility through business initiative.

Meanwhile the project would not only benefit the partners involved but other stakeholders including the government, sector ministry, authorities, community leaders and general households which aimed to ensure clean sanitation of the environmental safety through waste management and recycling of the waste product into useful product for the benefit of all and also to create more jobs for the youth.