President Akufo-Addo cutting sod for the waste plant in UW
There was excitement at Kperesi in the Wa Municipality on Friday when President Akufo-Addo cut sod for the construction of a €15 million waste treatment plant.
With the exception of the Greater Accra and Ashanti regions whose plants have been inaugurated, works are currently ongoing on solid waste treatment plants in all the 16 regions under a public-private partnership (PPP) spearheaded by Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) and its partner—Komptech.
A lot of were happy that the project which is the first of its kind in the region will not only help to solve most of the sanitation problems, but will also create job opportunities for the teeming youth in the area.
Opening construction works, President Akufo-Addo said, “My hope and purpose for such initiative is that Ghana will be the cleanest country in sub-Saharan Africa at the end of my tenure.”
He said the country was witnessing a public-private partnership (PPP) at its best, saying, “That is Jospong Group of Companies partnering with the Ministry of Sanitation & Water Resources to ensure the construction of integrated recycling compost plants in all the 16 regions across the country.”
He said the collaboration between the Minister of Sanitation & Water Resources, Cecilia Abena Dapaah, and the Executive Chairman of the JGC, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, to ensure the cities become clean is commendable.
The President urged the people of Wa and Kperisi to give their maximum support towards the success of the project.
Mrs. Dapaah disclosed that the Upper West generates 521 tonnes of solid waste daily. And upon completion, the waste will be recycled into compost and other valuable plastic products.
“We don’t want to see indiscriminate littering on the environment after the completion of the project,” she cautioned.
According to Dr. Siaw Agyepong, the plant will provide 75 and 250 direct and indirect jobs respectively to the youth in the region alone upon completion.
He commended the Paramount Chief of Kperisi Traditional Area, Naa Mahama Seidu II, and the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Wa Municipal for making available land for the project.
He said, “We are beginning work immediately the President cuts the sod, and the facility would be completed within four months.”
Naa Mahama Seidu II expressed appreciation to President Akufo-Addo for ensuring that his community benefits from the share of the national cake and appealed to the President to help improve electrification in his community, adding that a cultural theatre in “my community will help unearth loads of talents among the youth in the creative arts space.”
From Eric Kombat, Wa