Zoomlion calls for attitudinal change to ensure clean environment

Takoradi, Nov. 7, GNA - Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a leading waste management company, at the weekend called for attitudinal change by the general public to ensure good environmental sanitation practices in the country.

Speaking at a press briefing on the activities of the company in Takoradi, Mr. Oscar Provencal, Head of Communications of Zoomlion Ghana, said the company's efforts at keeping the streets and homes clean would be in vain if the public did not refrain from indiscriminate littering of the environment. He said the company was grappling with daunting challenges such as clients' unwillingness to pay realistic prices for domestic waste services, weak enforcement of assembly bye-laws on sanitation, non availability of zones for solid waste collection and non availability of funds for expansion. Mr Provencal said in spite of the efforts being made by the company to keep a clean environment, people rather attributed sanitation problems everywhere to the company.

He said the company had extended its waste management services to other African countries such as Togo, Angola and Guinea, whiles negotiations were far advanced to start operations in Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Liberia. "Zoomlion is proud of its international services such as offering janitorial and environmental sanitation services during the Africa Cup of Nations in Ghana and the recent Nations Cup in the ultra modern 11th November Stadium in Luanda, Angola," he said.

Mr Solomon Agyemang Duah, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion, said the company had ventured into other sectors such as agriculture, janitorial services, beautification services, heavy duty equipment hiring, sale and rental of construction and waste management equipment. He said in pursuance of excellence in the waste and sanitation industry, the company had exchanged ideas with international waste management companies of South Africa and Germany for technical cooperation and capacity building. Mr Duah revealed that plans were far advanced for construction of sorting and compositing plant at a site near Accra to process 300 tones of domestic waste daily.

He noted that the company had established a Training Institute to train sanitation workers in waste management practices and award diplomas and degrees after completion of the course. Mr Duah said the company had a core staff strength of 2,800 adding that with the employment of youth in Zoil Eco Brigade, National Youth Employment and National Afforestation Programmes, it had so far employed 62,500 people through public-private partnerships. He said the company would continue to champion the course of clean environment in Ghana devoid of any partisan undertones and abide by the rules and regulations governing its operations. 7 Nov. 10