According to them, Dredge Masters have done a tremendous job even though government hasn’t paid them since 2015.

This comes on the back of the confirmation by the Minister for Works and Housing, Samuel Atta-Akyea, that even though Dredge Masters have not been paid, they are still working.

Mr. Atta-Akyea also added that, sitting on his desk is a huge arrears that must be made to Dredge Masters.

Addressing the press during the inspection of some dredging sites within Accra, Vice Chairman of the committee, Sampson Ahi, MP for Bodi, said the timely payment by government will assist Dredge Masters to tackle other components of the contract.

“We all need to be paid when we work so we are appealing to government to pay. This contract is binding on government and if it must be continued then government needs to pay the contractors. The contract has different components, with regards to de-silting they are almost done, but the other non-dredging projects have not been done or completed because of lack of funding. I believe when they are paid it will be tackled.”

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Works and Housing visited dredge masters to get first-hand information on the level of work done to avert perennial flooding within the city. The team was led by the chairman, Nana Amoakoh.

Dredge Masters, a Ghanaian-owned leading provider of dredging services, was contracted to dredge the Odaw drain which runs through a greater part of the city.

It is the first company to be contracted by the government to clear the drain after the philanthropic gesture by Ibrahim Mahama’s Engineers and Planners following the June 3, 2015 floods.

Dredge Masters has been awarded the contract since November 2015.

Mr. Atta-Akyea had earlier commended Dredge Masters for the work done so far and had assured that government would clear the debt.

“Companies are very commercial in character and without money, we don’t expect them to deliver. But Zoomlion and its subsidiary, Dredge Masters continue to work in the face of all these. So if there is any commendation, dredging masters and Zoomlion must be acknowledged for their services.”

“…The dredging of the Odaw River is capital intensive, but even though these companies are owed huge sums, they still continue to work because of the human dimension they have attached to their work. It is in the light of this that, they must be supported to continue giving us the services we need,” he said.

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By: Philip Nii Latey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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This was made known by the Minister for Works and Housing, Atta Akyea at the commemoration of June 3 disaster and the National Sanitation Day celebration over the weekend.

According to him, Zoomlion and its subsidiary, Dredge Masters have kept faith in their business with the people of Ghana even though government is owing them huge sums of money in arrears.

He said, government will do all things possible to clear all outstanding debt to the two companies.

“Companies are very commercial in character and without money, we don’t expect them to deliver. But zoomlion and its subsidiary, dredging masters continue to work in the face of all these. So if there is any commendation, dredging masters and zoomlion must be acknowledged for their services.”

“…The dredging of the Odaw river is capital intensive but even though these companies are owed huge sums, they still continue to work because of the human dimension they have attached to their work. It is in the light of this that, they must be supported to continue giving us the services we need,” he said.

The minister also indicated that, without Zoomlion and Dredge Masters, the June 3, disaster would have been worse.

On his part, the Mayor of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), Mohammed Nii Adjei Sowah said it was unfortunate that some survivors of the June 3 flood disaster are still not attended to and that his outfit is working closely with the ministries to ensure that by next year, none of the survivors will be complaining.

He however expressed his, and government’s condolences to the families of the departed and shared in the frustration of the survivors.

According to the AMA Chief Executive, “The Assembly’s position is that, we are going to use that platform to enforce our bylaws,” to ensure that flood disasters are no more part of the history of the country.

Mr. Adjei Sowah said various Assembly personnel are deployed to ensure that residents comply with sanitation bylaws.

“We have mobilised all our district and environmental health officials. There are about 160 of them and we will zoom into the Ablekuma Central area and they are going to people’s houses to check whether they have really evacuated all their refuse from the places and disposed them.”

The name “Sanitation Day” will even be a thing of the past in the Accra Metropolis, according to Mr. Adjei Sowah, who added that “we are going to enforce the sanitation bylaws on that day. So I am changing it in my district to Sanitation Enforcement Day.

Mr. Sowah urged people to always endeavour to clean their communities.
He said, “Let us promote sanitation consciousness to reduce the mountains of filth in our towns and cities across the country.”

He also urged the Environmental Sanitation Service Providers to come up with innovative measures that will inculcate in Ghanaians the culture of waste segregation, Proper Waste segregation and management to generate revenue.

Since November 1, 2014, the first Saturday of every month was earmarked as National Sanitation Day across Ghana.

The Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development initiative was declared in response to a major cholera outbreak that year.

On the day, Ghanaians engage in a voluntary clean-up exercise in an effort to reduce unsanitary conditions that breed diseases and causes flooding.

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Source: The New Crusading Guide

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It is also hopeful that Ghanaians will adhere to proper sanitation practices and avoid dumping waste into the drains to enable it contain rushing water.

This was revealed by the Greater Accra Regional minister, Ishmael Ashitey on Friday after touring sites of major drains earmarked to be dredged this year.

According to the minister, the project was in a bid to reduce the incidents of flooding due to choked drains.

He told Citi News “…now at first hand we are seeing some of the projects. You cannot construct a one mile drain and leave it there, but as time goes on, we can build the drain to a certain point and continue as we have funds then eventually we complete the drains.”

“In some places we need drains, but drains are not there. They’ve dug the place and water is flowing, when rain falls, sand goes in and fills it up and that is where we need to find money to address,” he said.

The Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mohammed Adjei Sowah noted that the dredging exercise will be a temporary solution to the flooding problem saying that the ultimate solution will be to construct proper drains throughout the city to prevent silt from blocking parts of major drains.

He added that he will collaborate with the regional minister to seek support from the appropriate ministry for the construction of full drains able to hold rushing water whenever it rains.

He suggested that a waste to cash mechanism will be introduced to encourage Ghanaians to trade their waste for money rather dump them into open drains.

He added that, “I’m also appealing to Ghanaians that we should change our habits, this is country, this is Accra, we should be dumping our refuse into the drains. That is not the best thing to do,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Operations Manager for Dredge Masters, the company contracted to dredge the drains, Sena Adiepena said about 22 drains have been identified to be desilted as part of the emergency project.

He said although no timeline had been given for the completion of the project, the company hopes to complete the project within 2 months ahead of the rainy season.

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By: Philip Nii Lartey/citifmonline.com/Ghana

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