Zoomlion Ghana Limited has moved swiftly to address sanitation concerns in the Asante Akyem South Municipality after allegations were raised by the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Maame Safoah Appiah, during a recent sitting of Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in Kumasi.
During the PAC hearing held on Tuesday, April 21, the MCE of Asante Akyem South Municial raised concerns over refuse spillages at communal container sites in her Constituency, deteriorated waste containers, and also alleged that she had personally paid for fuel to support waste evacuation in the municipality.
Given the seriousness of the concerns raised at the national forum, Zoomlion immediately engaged the MCE at the venue of the hearing, and assured her that the issues would be investigated and resolved without delay.
True to that commitment, the company dispatched a high-powered team to the municipality the very next day, April 22, to undertake a full-scale investigation into the allegations and assess the sanitation situation on the ground.
The team, made up of senior officials including the Chief Internal Auditor, Group Head of Internal Control, General Manager of Zoomlion, Regional Coordinator, District Manager and Operations Assistant, went to the municipality to meet and discuss the issue with the MCE and her team on the 22nd of April, before embarking on field inspections across the municipality.
As part of the investigation, the team visited nine communal container sites, inspected the landfill site, engaged military personnel responsible for fuel management, and interacted with the Municipal Head of Environment.
The investigation confirmed that there were significant waste spillages at all the communal container sites visited, while two containers required urgent repairs and two others needed immediate replacement.
Five containers were however found to be in very good condition.
The team further identified the operational challenge that contributed to the unfortunate situation, which was as a result of delays in fuel supply, due to shortage of fuel at the specific GOIL filling station, which was the only approved fuel supplier for that municipality, at the time.
The report also clarified that contrary to claims made at the PAC hearing, the MCE had not personally paid for fuel for waste evacuation. Rather, the honourable MCE had offered to do so through her Municipal Environmental Health Officer (MEHO) on the morning of April 21, but the staff of Zoomlion had declined the offer, because fuel had then become available at the Goil station at that time.
Following the findings, Zoomlion immediately rolled out corrective measures on the same day, 22nd April to restore cleanliness in the municipality.
The company spent close to GH¢20,000 to hire machines, buy fuel and pay workers to evacuate and clean all the waste in the municipality.
The company thanks the honourable MCE who supported the company with additional trucks.
The company apologises for the situation, and assures the honourable MCE and residents of its commitment of restoring sanitation standards and preventing future occurrences.
Following these interventions, refuse at all the affected sites was duly evacuated with dispatch, and cleanliness has significantly been improved across the municipality.
Zoomlion has further initiated long-term measures, including plans to supply additional containers, repair faulty trucks, expand fuel supply options, and reinforce its “Operation No Spillage” initiative to ensure sustained sanitation service delivery in Asante Akyem South municipality and all other areas where it has operational mandates.
The company reiterates its commitment to partnering Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies across the country to maintain clean and healthy communities.