The Minister for Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation (MESTI), Ms Ophelia Mensah Hayford has expressed government’s preparedness to move away from linear economy to circular economy to ensure rapid development in the area of environmental protection and waste management system.
This move, she noted, would ultimately help to decrease waste and pollution in the system with support from donor agencies.
The circular economy is a system where materials never become waste and nature is regenerated.
Ms. Mensah Hayford at the inauguration of a Circular Economy Center Project at the Ho Technical University (HTU) said with the continuous support from the European Union (EU) through her Ministry, they have come-up with a Circular Economy action plan to focus on key priority economic sectors as water, food and agriculture among others.
The Sector Minister explained that the need for such a plan is to guide the country’s seamless transition into a workable circular economy to enable the country benefit greatly from the project.
Ms Mensah Hayford disclosed that the Centre of Excellence Project is a 5-year initiated project with the primary objective of enhancing circular economy-based economic prosperity for women and the youth to benefit.
The Sector Minister announced that the project with an ambitious investment of approximately 6 million US Dollars is designed to foster an enabling environment where principles of the project can thrive as they focus on critical areas such as waste management, clean technology and resource efficiency.
Ms Mensah Hayford urged the selected Universities for the project which include, Ho Technical University, Cape Coast University, and Kwame Nkrumah University of Health and Allied Sciences to reflect on the broader implications of their roles in ensuring success of the project.
She said the center is not only about management of waste but also to transform the economy into an enviable level.
The Director and Head of Cooperation at the Canadian High Commission in Ghana, Kathleen Fynn-Dapash said the circular economy reduces pressure on the natural resources, decreases waste and combats climate change.
She stressed that Circular Economy is a positive path towards achieving a sustainable development and would not affect the environment as they move ahead and that the project should be regarded as a shared responsibility of all for the future generation.
The Vice Chancellor of Ho Technical University (HTU), Prof. Benjamin Q. Honyenugah said management of HTU are prepared and willing to embrace the project to make it become a hub of technology in waste management in the country and beyond.
The Vice Chancellor announced that the University has made available offices, laboratory, workshops to the project to ensure that the center allow beneficiary students to exhibit the needed talents in them.
He therefore urged all team players on the project to actively participate in activities of the center to realize it’s dreams of becoming a hub of technology.
The Coordinator of the Circular Economy Center Project, Joseph Yeboah said the Center would focus on three key sectors; textiles, plastics, agriculture and agro-processing.
He emphasized that through these three key areas, the project would train 2,000 Small-Scale Entrepreneurs in innovation and also pilot and validate 200 circular economy technologies and business concepts.
He disclosed that the circular economy center project is a USD 5.3 million project funded by GAC and implemented by UNIDO in partnership with Ministry of Environment Science Technology and Innovation (MESTI).
The Paramount Chief of Abutia Traditional Area and President of the Abutia Traditional Council, Togbega Abutia Kodzo Gidi pledged on behalf of Chiefs of the Volta Regional House of Chiefs to support the four universities to realize the objectives of the center.
