Dr. Siaw Agyepong taking President Akufo-Addo round the plant
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has called on business entrepreneurs in the country to be at the forefront in waste management in Accra.
He said the capital, with a population between five and seven million produced volumes of waste daily and invited the private sector to get on board and help deal with the challenge
President Akufo-Addo said this when he inspected a plant that treats waste to fertiliser at Adjen Kotoku in the Greater Accra Region.
The President inspected the site on the second day of his three-day tour of the Greater Accra Region. So far, he has toured nine out of the ten regions since he began his monthly regional tour this year.
According to President Akufo-Addo, collaboration between the state and the private sector was one of the modern and most effective approaches to delivering public service and addressing socio-economic needs of a community.
The plant, the President added “is an eye opener for me. It is about what is possible, about what collaboration can do, and what is possible, with encouragement and proper policy framework, if we have confidence in Ghanaian entrepreneurs.
“Ghanaian entrepreneurs have to be at the forefront of the social and economic transformation of the country. This sort of facility, seeing it work in detail, is extremely encouraging.”
Particularly, the President was excited “about the idea that out of here too, it is making an important contribution to our balance of payments, by being able to export products out of here to neighbouring countries and afar. If you put all of these things together, we are seeing the best kind of collaboration between the state and the private sector.”
To Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, operators of the plant, the President stated that “more grease to your elbow, and the contribution you are making to our social life is inestimable. We have to encourage you.”
He continued, “When you are at the forefront of doing things, like you are, you will be the subject of controversy, it goes with the territory. I know you a little bit, and I know you are capable of handling it. Stay focused.”
On his part, Dr. Siaw Agyepong told the President that the company has invested some US$98 million in three different waste processing facilities across the country, employing some 700 permanent workers.
“Your presence here, Mr. President, reminds us of your commitment to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa. The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources is a first step in that commitment. We see this as a smart and achievable vision, and we are happy to make this reality,” he added.
The compost and recycling plant is an integrated waste processing and recycling company, established to receive, sort, process and recycle solid and liquid waste to produce organic compost for agronomic purposes in Ghana and in West Africa.
President Akufo-Addo also visited Zoompak Ghana Limited at Achimota, which specialises in the construction and management of waste transfer stations, collection and management of healthcare waste, amongst others. The plant, Dr. Siaw Agyepong said, has a designed capacity to process 600 tons of waste per day.
President Akufo-Addo also inspected a waste transfer station at Achimota in Accra and the Lavender Hill Faecal Treatment Plant at Lavender Hill in the Ablekuma South Constituency.
By Yaw Kyei
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