Zoomlion backs govt’s nationwide sanitation drive

Zoomlion Ghana Limited has committed massive logistical and equipment support for the nationwide sanitation exercise in its quest to boost the government’s National Sanitation Day initiative.

Speaking to the press during the clean-up on Saturday, October 4, 2025, the Director of Monitoring and Service Quality at Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Mr. Ernest Kusi, confirmed the company’s full backing for all municipal assemblies across all sixteen regions.

Saturday’s exercise was led by the Ga Mantse, King Tackie Teiko Tsuru II, and the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs, Ibrahim Ahmed, with support from Zoomlion.

The exercise commenced at the AMA headquarters, proceeding through the principal streets of the Central Business District (CBD) of Accra, Kwame Nkrumah Circle, and Agbogbloshie Market, among other areas.

It involved sweeping the shoulders of the roads, removing heaps of sand from the drains, and clearing weeds on the median of the roads. Mr. Kusi disclosed that Zoomlion’s support includes dedicated workers, compaction trucks, essential protective equipment like gloves and nose masks, and other waste management gear.

“Zoomlion is committed to supporting all Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide to ensure that the National Sanitation Day is not just a one-day event, but continues to advance the President’s Clean Ghana Agenda,” he affirmed.

“As a leader in sanitation, Zoomlion cannot sit idle; we must participate. This morning, we are actively participating in the Assembly. Our workers, dressed in their sanitation apparel, are sweeping, desilting drains, and weeding in designated areas assigned by the Assembly.

“We have also provided logistics, including compaction and skip trucks, so that when refuse is gathered, it can be transported to final disposal sites.”

According to Mr. Kusi, Zoomlion has been involved in the nationwide planning process for National Sanitation Day.

“Our staff members across all the regions are actively participating. We have supplied logistics such as brooms, nose masks, gloves, compaction trucks, and skip trucks to support the exercise across municipalities and districts,” he disclosed.

Aside from providing logistics and equipment to the national clean-up operation, the Zoomlion Director of Monitoring and Service Quality indicated that they were also investing in public education, stressing that behavioural change was crucial to the success of this agenda.

“We believe sanitation is about lifestyle change. If people adjust their attitudes towards littering, it will make a huge difference. We run the Zoom Kids Programme in schools across the country, where we form clubs to instill sanitation habits in young people from an early age. This way, they grow up with positive attitudes toward cleanliness.”

He emphasized that it was also crucial for the assemblies to implement enforcement measures to penalize those who litter.

“Together with education and enforcement, we believe we can achieve lasting change,” he said.

According to Mr. Kusi, sanitation was a shared responsibility, indicating that “it is not only the government’s duty but citizens must also play their part.”

To this end, he appealed to Ghanaians to keep their environs clean, desilt drains, weed overgrown areas, and ensure the proper disposal of refuse in containers at home.

“Every first Saturday of the month is National Sanitation Day, and I expect all citizens to participate,” he charged.

Furthermore, Mr. Kusi indicated that proper waste storage was equally crucial to the success of the National Sanitation Day initiative.

He explained that without waste bins, refuse cannot be collected and disposed of properly, thus urging households to contact Zoomlion for bins at a highly subsidised cost.

“Anyone who needs a waste bin can contact Zoomlion Ghana Limited. We provide them at a subsidised cost, with service fees payable over time,” he averred.

“Negative attitudes such as indiscriminate littering harm us all, and the waste we throw away pollutes the environment and brings diseases back to us. Let us all change our lifestyle toward the environment so that together we can enjoy the clean Ghana we desire.”

Earlier, addressing participants at the clean-up exercise at the forecourt of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) head office in Tudu, Accra, the Minister for Local Government, Chieftaincy, and Religious Affairs, Ibrahim Ahmed, encouraged Ghanaians to cultivate the determination to keep cities and the environment clean at all times.

“This, however, must not only be seen as a physical exercise. It is also a mental and attitudinal one. Beyond the sweeping and cleaning, we must work on resetting our mindset and changing our behavioural attitudes,” he stated.

Hon. Ahmed Ibrahim used the opportunity to appeal to the media to support the government’s national sanitation agenda by helping to shape positive attitudes toward cleanliness.

The National Sanitation Day was officially launched and reintroduced by President John Dramani Mahama on September 6, 2025, at the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS), Ogbojo–Madina, to unite Ghanaians to keep the nation clean.