The Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA), under which sanitation falls, has made a shocking revelation that the government owed Zoomlion Ghana Limited a staggering 1.2 billion Ghana Cedis for services provided over the last two years. 

The Minister,  Ahmed Ibrahim, made this revelation while addressing delayed payments to firms under the Environmental Service Providers Association (ESPA).

This debt, inherited from the Akufo-Addo administration, he said, has been a significant concern for the current government.

Despite this, he underscored the importance of collaboration between the government and private waste management companies like Zoomlion to address Ghana's waste management challenges.

“We are collaborating closely with Zoomlion to address waste management challenges in the country, particularly focusing on recycling plastic waste,” he noted.  

He stressed the necessity for the government to forge robust partnerships with private waste management firms, while commending Zoomlion for its state-of-the-art sanitation infrastructure.

According to Ahmed Ibrahim, Zoomlion’s substantial investments in modern solid and liquid waste treatment and recycling facilities nationwide remained unparalleled, as the government does not have such infrastructure to deal with the waste (both solid and liquid waste) generated daily in the cities.

“Zoomlion’s commitment to building advanced waste management systems across Ghana remains unparalleled,” Ibrahim Ahmed stated. 

He admitted the government’s lack of comparable infrastructure, stressing the urgency of public-private collaborations to tackle sanitation issues.  

The Minister highlighted Zoomlion’s expanded role beyond waste collection, including faecal waste management. 

He warned of a nationwide sanitation crisis should Zoomlion halt operations, recalling past practices where faecal waste was dumped directly into the sea, causing environmental and health hazards.  

He indicated that Zoomlion’s liquid waste recycling plants now process sewage into compost and charcoal, aligning with a 2016 ban on sea disposal initiated by former President Dramani Mahama. 

Ahmed Ibrahim, therefore, called for sufficient government attention to sanitation, citing a Cholera outbreak in coastal regions like Cape Coast, Winneba, and Takoradi on October 24, 2023, advocating for intensified public education on sanitation risks.

The Minister made this revelation while speaking in an interview on Adom TV in Accra.