House commends Zoomlion Company

Page 49, Feb 14, 2008

Story: Emmanuel Adu-Gyamerah
EFFORTS by Zoomlion Company Ghana Limited, a waste and sanitation management company, to ensure clean environment throughout the country received a further boost when the company was highly commended in Parliament yesterday.
The commendation followed a statement made on the floor of the House by the Member of Parliament (MP) for Oforikrom, Ms Elizabeth Agyeman, on the company’s excellent performance.
She noted that few years back, the sanitation situation in most parts of the country was very appalling and the need for an effective mechanism to check and control the rate at which Ghanaians generated waste became a matter of concern.
Ms Agyeman said since the establishment of the company, it had not only approached waste management issues professionally, but had equally focused on delivering quality waste management solutions that relied on current technical innovations.
She recalled that the past year saw the arrival of visitors into the country for various occasions, such as the Golden Jubilee Anniversary and the African Union Summit, and the company proved its worth during those events with its first-class waste management.
“Mr Speaker, it is worth mentioning that Zoomlion was responsible for the waste management and sanitation of all the stadia that hosted the just ended 26th African Cup of Nations and a visit to any of the stadia during matches and after did reveal the good job they are doing,” she stated.
Ms Agyeman, therefore, suggested that the issue of sanitation should not only be looked at holistically, but adequate funds should be allocated to enable the effort of the company to be adequately felt throughout the country.
She recalled that in 1999, the national sanitation policy document published by the Local Government Ministry identified inadequate funds to pay solid waste contractors as the bane of waste management and called for regular payment of money due waste management companies by the various district assemblies to enhance their operation.
Ms Agyeman also called for a second look at the issue of providing tax incentives for waste management companies.
Contributing to the statement, the MP for Tamale South, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, said that the management of the sanitation module of the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP) by the Zoomlion Company Limited had been a useful experiment and commended the company for its innovations in the sector.
The MP, however, expressed concern about the delay in the release of funds for the payment of allowances for employees of the NYEP and called for measures to address the issue.
The Minister of Manpower, Youth and Employment and MP for Okaikoi South, Nana Akomea, explained that the delay in the payment of salaries of the employees of the NYEP was the result of the delay in the release of funds by the funding agencies.
He assured the House that the ministry was in contact with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning to secure funds for the payment of arrears due the employees of the programme.
Other MPs who commended the company were Mr Paul Okoh (Asutifi North), Mr Hackman Owusu-Agyeman (New Juaben North), Mr Yieleh Chireh (Wa West) and Mr Mohammed Ibn Abass (Bimbilla).