Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Lydia Seyram Alhassan, has commissioned Zoomlion’s transformative Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant in Sunyani.
Addressing the colourful durbar of chiefs, people, and departmental heads of state institutions at Nwawasua near Sunyani, Hon. Alhassan who is also the Member of Parliament for the Ayawaso West Wugon Constituency took the opportunity to praise the chiefs and people of the Bono Region touting the resilience of the region in always keeping their environment clean.
She said when it comes to cleanliness Bono Region, especially the Regional Capital, is always clean by all standards and it was partly because of the concern and frantic efforts taking by the traditional rulers and the people themselves.
She said the time has come for Ghana to celebrate the successes chalked in waste management infrastructural transformation following Jospong Group’s construction of 16 waste treatment and recycling plants across the regions in the past four years with 10 of them being operational while six are at various levels of completion.
Hon. Alhassan showered praises on the Executive Chairman and the entire management and staff of the Jospong Group of Companies for transforming the waste management industry of Ghana, saying the strategic establishment of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources by the President, H. E. Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to spearhead policy formulation and create an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive towards a cleaner Ghana was anchored by the likes of Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong and that has resulted in the many waste infrastructure springing up in Ghana today.
She therefore appealed to the people of Sunyani to embrace the facility and channel their waste to it for processing and recycling especially composting the organic waste for agricultural purposes and the recycling of plastics for household and recreational uses.
On her part, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) and Member of Parliament for Mfamsipim, Hon. Ophelia Mensah Hayford, said global warming has brought about climate change to the environment that has caused the depletion of the ozone layer as a result of the consistent production of carbon dioxide by individual acts which calls for measures to mitigate these causes globally.
She said the efforts of the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies is the definition of climate change mitigation.
She was not surprised that the Government of Switzerland offered to draw Ghana in the carbon trade market due to the Jospong efforts.
She said this brings about economic improvement to the country.
Madam Hayford called on Ghanaians to get involved in the fight against indiscriminate waste disposal and the many other acts that contribute to climate change.
The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, recounted the humble beginning of Zoomlion Ghana Limited when it commenced operations in Bolgatanga with only one manual tricycle.
He said prayers, commitment, and resilience have brought the company this far and he wasgrateful to God almighty for everything.
Dr. Agyepong commended the chiefs and people of the Bono region especially the Nwawasua Chief and Queen Mother for the release of land for the establishment of the facility to cater for the entire Bono Region.
He recounted how Nkrumah chose industrialization by establishing several factories and companies in the 1960s which brought rapid economic growth to Ghana.
According to him, he sees Nana Addo’s vision of One District, One Factory (1D1F) as an effort to industrialize Ghana again and that is why he seized the opportunity in the area that he best fits to expand the space.
He said his effort is meant to generate more jobs and to develop the private sector for domestic growth.
He said the facility will produce 150,000 tons of organic fertilizer in a year which will boost the agricultural sector in the Bono Region and across Ghana.
Dr. Agyepong stated that he sees waste differently from what people see it as. According to him, waste is a “misplaced resource” and urged all to develop the habit of exploiting waste into wealth.
He gave the assurance that the facility would establish a research center for the tertiary institutions in the region to further research into the components of waste and how it will be used and assured the chiefs that most of the workers are going to be engaged within the locality.
Earlier, the Bono Regional Minister, Hon. Justina Awo Owusu-Banahene, was all of praises to the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akuffu-Addo and the progressive thinker and strategic doer Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies for their thoughtfulness in locating the facility in her region.
She was optimistic that the facility will generate meaningful jobs and receive the waste generated in the Bono Region for processing, treatment and recycling to better the lot of the people.
Madam Owusu Banahene said, the plant has the capacity to process 400 tons of waste per day and statistics indicate that the region generates between 300-400 tons per day so the plant was fit for purpose and that the plant will generate tourism opportunities among others for the region.
She announced that the facility comes with 1,000 motor kings from Jospong for the collection of waste across the Sunyani municipality that will give jobs to many young men and women.
The Sampahene, Nana Samgba Gyafla II who also was acting President of the Regional House of Chiefs, the Vice President of the Bono Regional House of Chiefs and Drobohene, Okokyeredom Sakyi Ako II, the Queen Mother of the Sunyani Traditional Area, Nana Akosua Dua Asor Sika Brayie II, together with the Omanhene of Nwawasuaand Queen Mother among other traditional rulers graced the occasion and took turns to praise the ExecutiveChairman and staff of the Jospong Group of Companiesfor the beautiful edifice.