The Territorial Management Group and the Technical Working Group, as the critical component for the implementation of the €2.5 million European Union (EU) Holistic Reinforcement for Sustainable Development (HORESD) have been inaugurated in Kumasi.
The two groups would kick-start the project to be implemented over 30 months to strengthen efforts of the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) to cause a paradigm shift to keep the city clean and green.
The composition of the 25-member Technical Working Group comprises persons from all spectrum of departments, including Planning, Waste Management, Environmental Health, Physical Planning, Urban Roads, Finance, Administration, Procurement, Education, Urban Transport, Social Welfare, Community Development and the media, as well as non-governmental (NGOs) and Civil Society organisations.
The Territorial Management Group comprises 21 members and entities, including representatives from Manhyia Palace, the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi Technical University (KsTU), Ghana Police Service, Ghana Armed Forces, Environmental Protection Agency, Christian Council of Churches, Shop Owners Association, Adum Hawkers Association, Ghana Private Road Transport Union, Judicial Services and the business community who have the political influence and financial capacity to carry out measures towards the effective implementation of the project.
The project is aimed at improving public services delivery through the capacitation of local authorities and the participatory capacities of the citizens in the planning and execution of strategies towards achieving efficient services delivery.
The project is also expected to strengthen Kumasi’s capacity to provide public services with priority for an integrated management system of urban solid waste, as well as raise awareness in the populace and strengthen the local authority in the implementation of the National Plan for Integrated Management of municipal solid waste in Ghana, as well as help develop business initiatives in the area of circular economy.
Giving an overview of the project, Mr. Joshua Nii Noye Tetteh-Nortey, the Local Project Coordinator, who is also the Project Officer of the KMA, said the European Union had provided various interventions for the effective implementation of the project.
He mentioned some of these as the donation of seven compact trucks to manage waste under the project, as well as 800 containers for house-to-house waste collection, and 1,000 litter bins for collection of dry and wet waste, which takes off on a pilot basis at the Adum Central Business District.
The Asafohene, Ayamfuo Asafo Boafo Agyeman, recommended that the Green Information Point of the project should provide a database on waste management for the city of Kumasi.
He also urged the KMA to adequately educate the public to reduce waste generation.
Inaugurating the groups last Wednesday, the Mayor of Kumasi, Sam Pyne, urged the members to join forces and persist to ensure the success of the project, since the KMA alone could not build a clean and green city free from traffic congestion, and with quality healthcare and educational systems.
The International Co-ordinator of the project, Dr. Helder B.C.J. Moreira, was impressed with the level of participation in the implementation of the project.
