President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo yesterday unveiled 100 state-of-the-art waste management trucks and 25 disinfection equipment procured by waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a subsidiary of Jospong Group of Companies.
The 100 trucks are the first consignment of 500 trucks procured by the waste management giants to help government keep the country clean.
Speaking after the unveiling of the trucks, President Akufo-Addo announced that the next phase of Ghana’s waste management is to convert trash to energy.
This phase, he indicated, will add to Ghana’s energy capacity and also ensure the realisation of clean Ghana agenda.
According to him, the government has provided an enabling environment through the Public Private Partnership (PPP) to make this work.
President Akufo-Addo indicated that the country currently generates some 7,517,540 metric tonnes of waste.
Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies 
President Nana Akufo-Addo
This situation, he noted, presented enormous investment opportunities for which the private sector can take advantage of.
“I will therefore reiterate my invitation for more private sector companies to collaborate with government in creating business opportunities in the waste management space such as waste to energy, recycling and composting,” he reiterated.
President Akufo-Addo maintained that rapid population growth with its consequent increase in human activities meant that waste management generation activities still continued to be a challenge in the country.
Accordingly, he underscored that the procurement of this additional fleet by Zoomlion will go a long way to address the waste management problems in the country.
Engagement with private sector
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Henry Quartey, in his well address, said the unveiling of these fleet of waste trucks confirmed the need for the government to continue to engage with the private sector.
“I stand to pledge the resolute commitment of the Regional Coordinating Council and all Metropolitan and Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to ensure these trucks are put to judicious use while strictly adhering to maintenance regimes for a longer life span,” he assured.
Mr Quartey stressed that his outfit will continue to collaborate with Zoomlion and its affiliates and the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA) to provide quality service to the communities, especially in the Greater Accra Region.
He however called on the citizenry to also play their role and avoid littering indiscriminately after the waste has been collected.
“Accra can and must indeed work again. Every one of us has a role in achieving this,” the regional minister averred.
President commended
The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, commended the President for his unwavering commitment to ensure that Ghana becomes the cleanest country in Africa.
She said under the presidency of Akufo-Addo, her ministry, the first of its kind in the history of Ghana, has achieved a lot in the sanitation space.
“For the first time, many aged dumpsites have been evacuated across the country,” she said.
She pointed out that her ministry has had some excellent working relations with stakeholders in the sanitation sector,” thereby commending Zoomlion for its enormous role in the sector.
In a brief remark, the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, disclosed that his outfit was unveiling 100 state-of-the-art trucks with modern technology and well-trained drivers to boost their already existing fleet.
He said this was part of a total consignment of 500 new waste trucks acquired by his group.
“It is expected that the remaining trucks should arrive by the end of the third quarter of this year,” he added.
Additionally, he revealed that JGC was on the verge of receiving over 5,000 motorised tricycles.
These tricycles, he said, will be distributed across the country to support the haulage of solid waste in the cities and communities.
He used the opportunity to announce that a new phase has been added to his company’s operations
“Our drivers have been taken through rigorous training on discipline, defensive driving and customer service to ensure that they deliver service at an optimum standard,” he said.
Dr Siaw-Agyepong thanked the Akufo-Addo administration for enabling the private sector to thrive and contribute to the social and economic development of the country.
