Zoomlion clears refuse at Abossey Okai
Zoomlion Ghana Limited, a waste management company, has begun a rigorous clearing of refuse located near the International Central Gospel Church (ICGC) at Abossey Okai, a suburb of Accra.
Advertisement
The two-month exercise, which is done in collaboration with ICGC and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), is intended to clear the area of filth and to permanently seal the area off from encroachers.
The land will also be compacted and covered with laterite, a reddish clayey material.
When the Daily Graphic visited the area last Tuesday, some workers of Zoomlion were busy operating excavators to clear the seven-feet heap of rubbish that had been gathered on the site over a period of time.
Some schoolchildren, obviously glad with the new development on the site, were seen playing and performing some recreational activity on some cleared parts of the area.
The usual heavy and unbearable stench that characterised the illegal dumpsite, especially after a drop of rainfall, was absent; some residents close by also hang around the site to enjoy a breath of fresh air.
Dumpsite
The ICGC site has over the years been used as a dumping ground for waste and e-waste materials. Some of the residents around the Abossey Okai area also use the site as a place to attend to the call of nature.
Aside from that, the site has been an abode for squatters some of who claim to be managing the dumpsite while others are engaged in unhygienic activities.
Other Trending Stories
This situation raised concerns among city authorities and the leadership of the church who on countless occasions expressed their displeasure on the use of the land as a dumpsite, especially when it was close to the sea.
Twitter rampage
Some frustrated Ghanaians also took to Twitter, a social media platform, to express their disgust about the issue.
“How do you have a dumpsite a few metres to a major drain? @JDMahama @AbaAsamoah @jessicacitifm @KafuiDey @Manasseh_Azure #CloseDumpSiteNow”, “A better Ghana free from sickeness so #CloseDumpSiteNow”, “ Let's change our attitude towards waste disposal now. Believe it or not the #Hastings #CloseDumpSiteNow may be from these same victims”, among other tweets were shared.
No more dumpsite
In the light of this, the AMA in May this year announced the immediate closure of the site and threatened that anyone found dumping refuse at the site risked losing his or her vehicle and could also face prosecution.
According to the Coordinating Director of the AMA, Mr Sam Ayeh-Dartey, the decision formed part of measures to address the health and environmental concerns the dumpsite posed to residents in the area adding, “The continuous dumping of refuse in the area could cause an epidemic in the metropolis.”
Eyesore and ungodly
Speaking to the Daily Graphic in an interview, the Communications Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mr Robert Tetteh Coleman, said the clearing of the refuse formed part of the company’s effort to support the government to achieve its sanitation agenda.
According to him, it was an eyesore and ungodly to have a dumpsite close to the sea and more importantly, to a church which did not only affect the health of the patrons of the church but also the beautification of the environment.
“The smoke from the dump often engulfs the entire place and spreads to the church. This can cause health complications to the members of the church from the continuous exposure to the smoke, flies and bad odour”
“We, are therefore, undertaking this exercise to finally help bring some sanity into this area by clearing the refuse, fumigating the entire area and finally fencing it to prevent it from being encroached upon,” he said.
Mr Coleman said when that was done, the land could be used for other development projects that could benefit the youth and the residents in the area.
He, however, called for support from the general public to help achieve the sanitation goal by engaging in good waste management practices.
“Let us stop the open defecation, the dumping of refuse into open drains and unauthorised places and understand that waste management is a shared responsibility and not an individual’s duty,” he added.
Advertisement