Cape Coast, Oct. 26, GNA - The Central Regional Minister Nana Ato Arthur, on Friday urged members of the public to show appreciation for the work of the staff of Zoomlion (Ghana), a private waste management Company and give them the needed support and respect to enhance sanitation in the cities and towns in which they operate. He said it was unfortunate that some people showed gross disrespect towards the Zoomlion staff when they were performing their official duties to the extent that they nicknamed them as "bola men and women". This he noted did not augur well for their work considering the great jobs they were doing in keeping the cities clean. Nana Arthur made the call at the launch of a "public education campaign on sanitation" at the Tantri Lorry Station in Cape Coast by the Company.

It was in collaboration with the Cape Coast Metropolitan Assembly, the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU), Progress Transport Owners Association (PROTOA) and Cooperative Transport Union. A total of 200 litter bins and four mega phones were also presented to the various transport unions to be placed at the various lorry parks in the metropolis to stem the practice of people littering the station indiscriminately.

Nana Arthur commended the company for its efforts in keeping the city clean and pledged the support of the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC).

He urged the various transport unions to take good care of the bins and make maximum use of them. He also urged them to help in educating the public not to throw rubbish from moving vehicles. The Regional Minister warned that anyone who stole or intentionally damaged the bins would be dealt with and urged the various transport unions to closely work with the Zoomlion to ensure clean lorry parks in the metropolis.

Nana Arthur appealed to the people in the Central Region to show gratitude to the government for elevating four districts to municipal assemblies and the Cape Coast Municipal Assembly to a metropolis and urged them to reciprocate the gesture by keeping the environment clean. Ms Mercy Arhin, Cape Coast Metropolitan Chief Executive, underscored the important role the company was playing in keeping the city clean and called on the public to give the company the needed support to enable it do its work effectively.

She commended the company for the initiative and warned people to desist from carrying rubbish from their homes to dump into the bins provided at the stations, suggesting that drivers should provide litterbins in their vehicles to stop people from littering the roads and lorry stations.

Ms Arhin urged the various transport unions to sustain the relationship with Zoomlion and expressed the hope that the campaign would help improve the sanitation situation in the area. Mrs Rhoda Donkor, Central Regional Operations Executive of the company, said lorry parks were the first point of call for all travellers and that with the forthcoming CAN 2008 many tourists and visitors would be boarding vehicles at lorry stations and that it was therefore important to keep them clean. He called on the public and the various transport unions to give the company the needed support to enable it to achieve its aims and objectives.