Government Affairs Manager of ZoomLion Ernest Morgan Acquah says Zoomlion is no longer responsible for the daily cleaning of streets across the country, explaining that its contract with the government has expired and has not been renewed.
The waste management company says the responsibility now lies with the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs), although it has continued to undertake some clean-up exercises as part of its corporate social responsibility.
Speaking on JoyNews, Mr Acquah said the company currently holds only a contract for solid waste collection, not for daily public cleaning.
“ZoomLion is a private entity. We have contracts with the government for solid waste collection. We previously had the contract for public cleansing, but that contract ended and has not been renewed. Zoomlion is therefore not solely responsible for cleaning the streets,” he said.
According to the company, the sight of some ZoomLion personnel sweeping and desilting drains in recent weeks should not be interpreted as part of any government contract.
“What we are doing now is purely on humanitarian grounds and as part of our social responsibility. It is not because we have a contract with the government to keep the cities clean,” Mr Acquah explained.
The company argued that the suspension of daily street sweeping has contributed significantly to the worsening sanitation situation, particularly during the rainy season.
It pointed to the period after the devastating 2015 Accra floods, saying consistent daily sweeping helped reduce the impact of flooding in subsequent years.
“Since the 2015 floods, we had not witnessed flooding of that magnitude until this year. We believe daily sweeping played a major role. Now that routine sweeping is no longer being done, waste is accumulating in drains, and the evidence was visible during the recent floods.”
Zoomlion also cited operational challenges affecting waste management infrastructure, including transfer stations and recycling plants, which it said have been hampered by inadequate financial support.
The company noted that the recent queues of tricycle waste collectors, popularly known as Aboboyaa operators, waiting to dispose of waste near the Malam area highlighted the strain on the system.
“These are all contributing factors. We need to go back to the drawing board, identify what worked, what did not, and make the necessary corrections, especially as more rains are expected.”
Asked whether Zoomlion had managed Ghana’s waste disposal chain effectively over the years, the company acknowledged that no system is perfect but maintained that its overall approach had been effective.
“It is a human institution, so you cannot say everything was 100 per cent perfect. But we were on the right track. We needed sustained support, and the interruption in the system is contributing to what we are seeing today.”
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