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Waste Management Giants Zoomlion Introduces Mechanical Road Sweepers

Science Waste Management Giants Zoomlion Introduces Mechanical Road Sweepers
FEB 21, 2019 LISTEN

Waste Management experts, Zoomlion in collaboration with Ghana's Ministry of Sanitation have opened a new chapter as part of efforts in ensuring sustainable waste management in the country.

This follows the introduction of a New set of Mechanical Road Sweepers on Wednesday.

With an investment of $2 million Dollars made so far, these Street Sweepers will be deployed, in consultation with the governmental authorities, at various ceremonial and major streets of selected cities in Ghana to ensure their optimum use.

The mechanical sweepers are of the latest design and can sweep and wash the roads, leaving the surfaces sparkling clean.

Increase in the frequency of sweeping using the mechanical sweepers would go a long way to sustain the efforts of the assemblies in keeping the cities clean and attractive to tourists.

The 10 Mechanical Street Sweepers are meant to augment work being done by women and men street cleaners who have over the years worked so hard to keep ceremonial streets across the country clean.

The introduction of the Street Sweepers will also help minimize the risk of vehicular “knockdowns” accidents encountered by some of the cleaners along the major ceremonial roads which have a high rate of vehicular traffic.

Zoomlion has extended its operations to other African countries such as Togo, Angola, Zambia and Equatorial Guinea, Liberia among others.

Speaking at the official unveiling ceremony at the State House in Accra, the Chairman of the Zoomlion and Jospong of Group of Companies, Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, assured that Zoomlion was committed to the President Nana Akufo-Addo's passionate appeal to make “Every Day A Sanitation Day”.

He said ensuring sustainable waste management, called for close collaboration between Government and the Private Sector players.

This partnership, he underscored was necessary to support the country, to attain the ambitious objectives of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 6, pertaining to the provision of clean water, sanitation and resiliency to disasters.

"It is in this direction that we in Ghana have been fortunate to receive a clarion visionary call from His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to purposefully work to ensure that Accra and indeed the entire country is transformed to attain environmental cleanliness.

...True to this commitment, a year ago, during the presentation of the 2018 State of the Nation Address to Parliament Mr. President strongly re-echoed his vision, and I quote “There is the urgent need for the public authorities to find means of making our cities clean…….Government is working with various private sector operators to tackle this major challenge, with strategies that are intended to effect a change in our attitudes towards waste management…….Systematic efforts is being made to resolve the legacy of inherited debt in the sector,” he indicated.

He further added that it is in response to this national call for close partnership between the government machinery and the private sector players that Zoomlion have been challenged, inspired and motivated to transform our operational activities to respond effectively to Mr. President's visionary charge of total environmental cleanliness.

He said to keep the pace of ensuring sustainable development of an Integrated Waste Management solution, the company promotes vigorous Research and Development (R&D) in the sector.

"Accordingly we are leaving no stone unturned in teaming up with the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, and the University of Ghana in carrying out our research and development activities. This is with the view to ensuring that we will keep pace with the infusion of technology to propel the national agenda on environmental hygiene and sanitation.

...Our quest to maintain high international standard in our waste management value chain infrastructure development has attracted the attention of Harvard University Centre for African Studies and we are collaborating in this direction. Not quite long we also received twenty students from the Buffalo University in America who visited our facility and get some insights about our operations and also share their perspectives."

He assured that Zoomlion is committed to transforming every region with innovative ways of solving waste problems and further thanked the Government for the partnership commitment.

Mr. Siaw Agyepong was particularly grateful to the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Mrs. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Hajia Alima Mahama, Parliamentarians, Chiefs and traditional authorities among others.

He said with the guidance and support of the Local Government Ministry, Zoomlion has continuously engaged and interacted with the 254 Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) with whom the company has Public Private Partnership (PPP) collaborations in waste management activities in our communities.

On his part, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, Hon. Ishmael Ashietey, said Ghanaians have placed a lot of emphasis on liquid waste management issues.

He said in as much as Liquid waste has the potential of transmitting numerous diseases of Public Health importance among the populace, it is equally critical to look at SDG 11 and 12, which looks at solid waste management and the general environment. while poor Solid Waste Management can seriously affect the tourism industry.

"The solid waste management subsector still faces the challenge of huge infrastructure gap and if this is not addressed sooner there is no way Ghana can achieve its SDG goals on waste and to the greater extent, SDG on sanitation. Increasing the existing solid waste infrastructure is one of the priority focus areas of every assembly. It is the belief of the various MMDAs to look at waste management in a more holistic manner along the entire value chain of Collection, Transporting, Disposal and treatment."

He urged Ghanaians to see waste as wealth and further assured of the commitment of Government in ensuring a clean and safe living environment.

"His Excellency the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffo Addo has created a whole Ministry to focus only on Sanitation and Water and has further made his intentions clear by declaring that Accra, our capital city should be one of the cleanest cities in Africa. We, therefore, need the support of all to ensure the realization of this audacious vision."

He expressed his appreciation on behalf of the government to Zoomlion Ghana Limited.

Hon. Ishmael Ashietey indicated that the mechanised Street sweepers had come at an opportune time where some of the major roads and ceremonial streets have become receiving grounds for all types of waste.

"Although in recent times, there has been an increase in the number of people deployed to sweep these major streets, they are in most cases not clean. It has, therefore, become necessary to use mechanical sweepers to be able to cope with the frequent dumping of waste on these important roads."

The Deputy Local Government Minister, Hon.Collins Ntim, who represented the Local Government Ministry, commended the management of Zoomlion and its Group Chairman Joseph Siaw Agyepong for this laudable initiative.

"I will hasten to commend Zoomlion Ghana limited our key private sector partner. Indeed, your outfit keeps springing up surprises to augment the ministry's efforts and that is very commendable. We need more of your kind to completely nib in the bud the waste management menace facing this country.

....The President H.E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo decided that to tackle the sanitation conundrum head on as done in the past without a specific ministry will not yield the needed results hence the creation of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources to augment the efforts of the various MMDAs to help effectively tackle sanitation. We have collaborated with all players locally and internationally towards making Ghana's sanitation outlook a brighter one by consolidating the successes made over the years and making new efforts to reaching a higher pedestal.

....I am happy to announce that our collaboration has yielded the desired results of which today's ceremony is one. The Ministry participated fully in the launching of the first batch of 500 Waste Management Trucks by Zoomlion Ghana Limited to boost regular transportation of waste to the final disposal site."

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