A sod has been cut for work to begin on a solid waste treatment facility for the people of Bono Region.

The project, a collaboration between the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) and Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL) and its private-sector partners, is aimed at improving sanitation in the region.

Upon completion, the plant will receive municipal solid waste from Sunyani and its environs to be processed into re-useable materials such as compost for agricultural use.

The 400-ton per day solid waste processing facility will also provide jobs, improve waste collection and ultimately make Sunyani a clean city.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, who is embarking on a tour in the region, performed the sod-cutting ceremony at Wawasua Friday, September 11, 2020, in the Sunyani East Constituency of the Bono Region.

It was the second time the President was commissioning such a facility, and it formed part of his government’s vision to tackle sanitation in the country with a sense of urgency.

The plant at Wawasua will include facilities such as power distribution unit, compost workshop, e-waste, sorting workshop, office building, dressing room, and restaurant.

The rest are weighing bridge, washing bay, clinic, laboratory and plastic waste recycling.

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Madam Cecilia Abena Dapaah, disclosed that currently Ghana produces over 20,000 tons of waste, adding that the construction of waste treatment facilities across the 16 regions of the country will help reduce the amount that remains in “our communities.”

She was upbeat that Ghana was on course to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Sanitation.

According to her, government was ready to support private institutions whose visions meet government’s vision of promoting sanitation and reducing the amount of filth in communities across the country.

She added that her ministry’s partnership with Zoomlion will help the country attain the President’s vision of making Ghana clean.

"We all know that cleanliness improves sanitation, and what we are witnessing today [commissioning of a solid waste treatment plant in the Bono Region] is a great example of government’s partnership with the private sector to develop the country,” she said.

She advised Ghanaians to always be mindful of their environs and not resort to practices that create filth with its attendant issues.

For her part, the Bono Regional Minister, Mrs Evelyn Ama Richardson, was grateful to the government for including her region in the package of waste treatment facilities in the country.

She called on the people of Bono Region to rally behind the President’s vision of making Ghana a prosperous country.

“I encourage you all to vote massively for President Akufo-Addo and the NPP on December 7, to enable us do more for the good people of this country,” she said.

The Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr Joseph Siaw-Agyepong, expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo, for offering his group and their partners the opportunity to be part of his vision of promoting sanitation and development in Ghana.

The Sunyani Dwantoa Hemaa, Nana Aboah Bohemah, who was elated about the project, said the waste plant will further help maintain cleanliness in Sunyani, adding that it will also create employment for the youth.

She, therefore, urged particularly the youth to support the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The construction of the solid waste facility, she added, will reduce the burden on their old dumping site.

She advised citizens in Sunyani to learn how to manage their waste instead of resorting to the practice of dumping refuse indiscriminately.

“When we manage our solid waste well we will all be helping to prevent outbreak of diseases,” she advised.

Also at the event was the Krontihene of Sunyani, Oboaman Bofotia Boamponsem, who represented the Paramount Chief of Sunyani.

According to him, the paramount chief of Sunyani was solidly behind the initiative, hence the urgency with which he made land available for the project.

He charged citizens in the Bono Region to always ensure that their environs were clean.

He used the occasion to appeal to President Akufo-Addo to see to the completion of the plant.

“We don't want this project to be a white elephant but a dark one like the emblem of the NPP party,” he noted.

Oboaman Bofotia Boamponsem also advised the youth in Sunyani metropolis to take education serious.

This, he said, will prepare them for jobs that will be created in Sunyani, calling on them also to contribute their quotas towards developing the region.