As part of the projects to help mitigate the sanitation crises in the country, Zoomlion Ghana continues to cause marvel at the public with their impactful projects. Today’s program at the AH Hotel was a “Launch of the Environmental Sanitation Research Fund for Ghanaian Universities”.
The launch had in attendance the Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies and his abled staff, the Mayor of Accra (Hon. Adjei Sowah), the Head of Research at the Presidency (Dr. Isaac Owusu Mensah), Vice-Chancellors and other academic professionals from the various universities across Ghana.
Some Traditional Royals also graced the occasion.
The fund is aimed at financing practical and sustainable research in the area of finding solutions to our environmental sanitation problems.
Addressing the media, the Managing Director for Africa Environmental Sanitation Consult (AfES) a subsidiary of the JGC, Dr. Mrs. Abena Asomaning Antwi, said, the reasons for the fund is to induce practical and sustainable environmental sanitation research solutions by public universities in Ghana, the Jospong Group intends to leverage on the research fund to bridge the gap between academia and industry where specific industry problems are identified for a sustainable solution.
“However, Jospong Group of Companies has released to AfES Consult the 5million Ghana cedis as grant to to all public universities who will apply and meet the criteria to have some portion of the fund for research purposes. We want them to go on the field and take samples to work on them rather than literature review,” she emphasized.
Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies narrated how they started generating ideas for waste management companies some 15 years ago.
According to him, in the year 2006, God revealed to him how he can remove the donkey cats which were used to convey waste by introducing the Zoomlion manual tricycle he brought from China which has now evolved into the borlar taxi for waste collection.
He also touted the introduction of Sanitation Guards Model who acted in place of the erstwhile ‘Saman saman’ and educated Ghanaians about their waste management responsibilities. Later on, Dr. Agyepong disclosed his outfit has over 5000 motorized tricycles, 2000 heavy trucks and over 15 waste recycling plants including those who serve as transfer stations at Achimota and Teshie and those who produce the waste bins using the plastics collected in Ghana.
He indicated that more advanced plans are on the way to improve modern waste management including medical waste at the various hospitals, households, beaches to revolutionize the waste system of the entire nation.
“One day, the Lord laid on my heart a machine used in collecting refuse. I went to Barclays bank then, now Absa bank and took a fund of 30,000 Ghc to go and buy some T-shirts and a printer in China then I saw a tricycle on the streets on China been used in collecting waste” he said.
“So I saw the picture, meditating and praying to God. I bought a few of them and brought them to Ghana and contacted some waste companies and government operatives which yielded a positive engagement by government and the establishment of the youth employment programme.
Mr Anthony Mensah, Director of Sanitation at the ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources said the establishment of their fund will bring frequent engagement among the sector players which will go long way but not focusing only on sponsoring research but also realign the fundamental common interaction of data which will facilitate global trends of bringing a sustainable solution to our sanitation problems locally.
“There has to be a way to support municipalities in their efforts towards efficient sanitation planning and the Ministry of Water and Sanitation Resources will collaborate with Jospong Group and other industry players in the formulation of research topics that are important to the sector for national benefits,” he noted.
“For this effort, Africa Environmental Sanitation Consult (AFES) has nominated three directors namely Nana Obeng Poku, Director of Policy Planning and Monitoring Evaluation, Mr Joseph Amoah, Director of FNA and he himself to participate in the selection processes ” he mentioned.
“When the President said he will make Accra the cleanest city in the country with the help of the ministry, he does not mean only Accra but all the cities in the country as assured by our president, Nana Akufo-Addo” he explained.
