As part of efforts to get rid of filth in the Tamale metropolitan and Sagnarigu municipal assemblies, the waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana limited procured 500 tricycle motorbikes to help in evacuating heaps of waste in the communities. The new covered tricycles the company explained is to add up to the existing inadequate trucks.
Tamale metropolis alone generates about 500 tons a day but the collection capacity is around 300 tons a day. The motor bikes according to the waste management giant are covered to prevent spillage over waste to the landfill site.
General Manager of Waste Landfill Company limited, Mr Peter Kwesi Dagadu who disclosed this to the joint parliamentary select committee at Gbalahi explained that, the Tamale landfill site has the capacity to treat more than 400 tons solid waste per day.
Mr Dagadu said the plants for the project are already in Ghana and once the ware house structure and super structure is completed, it will be installed in about two months’ time. He attributed the delay in completion of 600 square meter project to the scooping of waste underneath before stabilizing the ground for the start of structure.
The plant when completed has the capacity to treat about 400 tones of waste a day with excess capacity. On the man power to manage iRCOP project, Mr Dadagu said Pump-Tech Austral officials have been in Ghana for the past 6 months and some personnel from Ghana also been sent to Austral for training to ensure there is enough manpower.
The project h explained will employed about 100 people as direct jobs with engineering aspect making up about 10%. Aside the recycling, Mr Dagadu told the MPs that there is also 100cm3 waste treatment plant. The facility Mr Kwei Dagaadu explained is a material recovery facility with the capacity of segregating both plastics and other solid waste.
Deputy Minority Chief Whip and MP for Banda in the Bono region, Ahmed Ibrahim wanted to know if the plant is covering the all 18 constituencies in the region. He drew the attention of the management to 2018-20291 outbreak of polio malaise leading to the government and unicef incurring a grater cause in embarking on vaccinating as a result of poor management of waste.
He wanted to know if there is a plant of transfer site in order that the entire northern region will have recycling plant to protect the arable farm lands which he said is losing its fertility as result of plastics and sachet water rubbers. The Banda legislator need to know in a clear term challenges the committee as part of their recommendations can make a case for the government to partner with private sector have transfer sites.
Responding to the concerns, Mr Dagadu said plans are far advance to acquire lands in all MMDAs in the country to scale down facilities. Some of the municipalities he said are not even up to 40,000 and investing in such a facility will be seriously underutilized. The project when completed can only caterer for five MMDAs; Tamale, Sagnarigu, Savelugu, parts of Kumbungu and Kumbungu itself.
Mr Dadagu pleaded with the committee to look into addressing issues investment risk Zoomlion is engaging without the government officially engaging them.
“We wish that we will be officially engaged in the form of contracts for all of these facilities that has not been finalized yet but Zoomlion went ahead to start putting the facilities on the grounds; we hope that when we get that assurances and that risk is taken off, we will be motivated to even do more than we are doing now’’, Mr Dagadu told the committee.
Northern regional Manager of Zoomlion, Mr Dawuni Peter iRCOP was conceptualized to solve the problem of negative externalities of waste generated from the landfill site.
Mr Dawuni said Zoomlion is increasing distribution of waste bins because there is an agreement with the assemblies regarding the number terminal containers, they should place in the various places.
Zoomlion he said, recognized the fact that there is still areas yet to be covered and the only way to get them covered is through house-house waste bins concept and once everyone subscribed to the waste bin system, we cover the collection of waste with Tamale and Sagnarigu.
The company Mr Dawuni said begun conversation with the assemblies about the enforcement of their sanitation bylaws because of the issues has to do with attitude of the people.
