Zoomlion Ghana Limited on Wednesday unveiled ten mechanical street sweepers to augment government’s efforts to make Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

Mechanical street sweepers are vehicles used to keep roads, pavements and other hard surfaces clean and free from debris.

This conventional street sweeper uses jets underneath it to spray water onto the road surface. This helps to loosen particles and reduce airborne dust.

Brushes then scrub the dirt off the surface, while a cylindrical broom-like brush sweeps the debris onto a conveyor belt which leads to a storage container, or hopper, inside the vehicle.

Speaking at a ceremony to unveil the sweepers at the forecourt of the State House in Accra, the Executive Chairman of Zoomlion Group of Companies Joseph Siaw Agyepong said the introduction of the sweepers was in supporting “our bid, as a country, to attain the ambitious objectives of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goal 6, pertaining to the provision of clean water, sanitation and resiliency to disasters.”

“It is in this direction that we in Ghana have been fortunate to receive a clarion visionary call from His Excellency the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to purposefully work to ensure that Accra and indeed the entire country is transformed to attain environmental cleanliness,” he added.

In a speech delivered on her behalf, the Local Government and Rural Development, Hajia Alima Mahama commended Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the move she said was aimed at tackling the sanitation conundrum facing the country head-on.

“I cannot hide my happiness today as we are about to make another strategic intervention to further boost our efforts towards making our nation clean.

“I will hasten to commend Zoomlion Ghana limited our key private sector partner. Indeed, your outfit keeps springing up surprises to augment the ministry’s efforts and that is very commendable. We need more of your kind to completely nib in the bud the waste management menace facing this country,” she said.

Mrs Mahama further stated it was her expectation Zoomlion Ghana Limited would effectively collaborate with all the MMDAs concerned to ensure smooth deployment of the equipment in order to maximize the associated benefits.

“This innovative strategic equipment no doubt will contribute significantly towards bringing us closer to the attainment of H.E. the President’s vision of making Accra the cleanest city,” she said.

On her part, the Greater Accra Regional Minister Ishmael Ashittey said the sweepers have come at an opportune time, “at a time where some of our major roads and ceremonial streets have become receiving grounds for all types of waste.”

“Although in recent times, there has been an increase in the number of people deployed to sweep these major streets, they are in most cases not clean. It has, therefore, become necessary to use mechanical sweepers to be able to cope with the frequent dumping of waste on these important roads,” he stated.