President promises clean Ghana … as he cuts sod for Savannah Region’s 15m Euro solid waste treatment facility
The government has cut the sod for the construction of a solid waste treatment facility here at Damongo.
The Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Adam Braimah, who performed the ceremony on Saturday, on behalf of the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, stressed that the government remained committed to the effective and efficient management of waste in the country.
According to the President, the project formed part of his vision to make Ghana clean, indicating that when completed, the plant would help in managing waste in a more environmentally-friendly manner in the region.
“Our collective responsibility is to sustain the gains made in the sanitation and water sector,” he urged the citizenry.
President Akufo-Addo commended management of Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) for ensuring that the project was completed, adding that, “I owe it as a responsibility as the President of the Republic of Ghana to fight sanitation and provide potable water to the people of Ghana.”
Speaking in his capacity as the Regional Minister, Mr Adam Braimah said, “It is for this reason that I call on you to give Nana Akufo-Addo ‘four more to do more’. And to the contractors, this project is dear to the heart of the President and the people of Savannah, so we want it to be completed on schedule.”
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Madam Florence Larbi, speaking on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the group, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyapong, revealed that the project was estimated to cost 15 million Euros.
“It will be completed within four months, and will serve Bole, West Gonja, East Gonja, Sawla, North-East Gonja, Central Gonja, North Gonja and other surrounding districts,” she revealed.
She, therefore, expressed her gratitude to President Nana Akufo-Addo, for his visionary leadership and personal support to the environmental sanitation sector and the private sector for development during his tenure of office.
“His commitment and dedication to ensuring a clean Ghana is very much appreciated. We, as the leading waste management company in Ghana and other parts of Africa, will continue to contribute our quota to make his vision for this sector a reality,” she assured.
The facility, she disclosed, was a 200-ton integrated, recycling and compost facility equipped with 21st century technologies in sanitation management.
“It aims to provide a sustainable solution to recover and recycle over 60 per cent of the organic fraction of the waste into compost to boost the agricultural sector and support the ‘Planting for Food and Jobs’ agenda. Other recyclable materials like plastics, paper and metals will also be separated and processed for re-use,” she said.
When completed, Madam Larbi said, the facility will create 75 direct jobs and 1,500 indirect jobs for the teeming youth in Savannah.
The Regional Environmental Officer, West Gonja Municipality, Mr Adam Wahab, who spoke on behalf of the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, said the project was a priority of the government to ensure a clean Ghana.
“This project will help and sustain the gains made in the sanitation and water sector,” the Sanitation and Water Resources Minister said.
By Times Reporter
