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Jospong Funds Research In Environmental Sanitation.

26 Researchers Benefit

Twenty-six (26) teams of researchers from thirteen (13) universities and research institutions across the country have received grant from the Jospong Group of Companies’ (JGC) Environmental Sanitation Research Fund (ESRF) to investigate issues in the space of environmental sanitation.

The grant is expected to fund research projects led by these researchers to help keep Ghana clean, and more importantly, for governments to achieve the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The maiden ESRF awards saw the Africa Environmental Sanitation (AfES) Consult Limited, the administrators of the fund, present certificates to all the successful applicants.

The teams and their number of researchers are from institutions including Akenten Appiah-Menka University of Skills Training and Entrepreneurial Development (4), C.K. Tedam University of Applied Science (2), Council for Scientific and Industrial Research – Institute for Industrial Research (1), Ho Technical University (2), Institute of Local Government Studies (1), Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (5), Kumasi Technical University (1) and Koforidua Technical University (1).

The rest are University for Development Studies (1), University of Energy and Natural Resources (1), University of Environment and Sustainable Development (2), University of Education, Winneba (2), University of Ghana (1) and University of Professional Studies (2).

In her welcome address, the Managing Director of, AfES Consult Ltd., Dr. (Mrs.) Abena Asomaning Antwi, said these institutions will conduct their research within their respective regions, adding that they constitute eight (8) out of the sixteen (16) regions of the country.

“These projects will help in development and the realisation of the SDGs on climate action, clean water, and sanitation. The research topics include waste to energy, improvements to the solid and liquid waste management systems, and enhancement of compost quality, among others,” she disclosed.

According to her, the 26 teams of successful researchers were selected out of 45 applications.

While congratulating the winners and commending the organisers including JGC and AfES Consult Ltd., the Board Chair of AfES Consult Ltd., Dr. Mercy Gardiner Tenkorang, underscored the importance of research and development on the environment and sanitation.
She explained that this funding scheme will provide the necessary support for practical and empirically based sustainable research in the field of environmental sanitation.
This, she added, will help bridge the “ever-widening gap” between academia and industry: “specific industry problems within the eco-system of waste management will be identified and researched for sustainable solutions.”
“Private sector development has resulted in a significant improvement in the investment of technologies for waste service delivery since the privatisation of the sector some decades ago.
“It is obvious that private sector players, such as the Jospong Group of Companies with keen focus on its waste companies, have given critical components for developing models aimed at guaranteeing sustainable waste collection, recovery, and disposal. Over time, this progress has improved economic growth, reduced poverty, and ensured a safe, clean, and habitable environment,” Dr. Gardiner Tenkorang said.
However, the board chair of AfES Consult Ltd., indicated that thriving private sector in environmental sanitation was saddled with socioeconomic and environmental challenges in their day-to-day business operations.
These challenges, she pointed out, included finding new ways to add value to the waste collected by adopting circular economy models, and other environmentally friendly approaches such as green and smart cities.
She said these challenges required innovation and long-term solutions that were both cost-effective and environmentally beneficial in order to promote and sustain economic growth and well-being.
“To foster economic growth and social inclusion, a knowledge-based society is required, thus investment in research and development (R&D). However, this will not happen by itself. It will need a long-term commitment to quality scientific inquiry, and innovation to steer continuous progress in business and policy while also ensuring that a competent peer-review procedure is in place to lead funds toward high-quality science,” Dr. Gardiner Tenkorang urged.
The Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Environment and Sanitation Group of the JGC, Mrs. Florence Larbi, in a speech read for her, stressed that for the gains along the waste management value chain to be sustained and further improved, there was the need for a “strong research, development and innovation framework.”
“An integrated system should focus on both the technical and non-technical elements of waste management and strategic and appropriate partnership with stakeholders. …Elements to be considered will not only include research and development. Findings should be integrated with good governance, adequate funding and communication,” she suggested.
In this regard, Mrs. Larbi underscored the need for waste management solutions to look beyond just disposal of waste and “move up the so-called hierarchy which factors waste prevention, minimisation, re-use and recovery.”

March 7, 2022
The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group appointed unto Annual New Year School Corporate Advisory Team

The University of Ghana, Legon has appointed the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong unto the Annual New Year School and Conference (ANYSC) Corporate Advisory team.

The team was inaugurated by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the opening of the 73rd Annual New Year School Conference organized by the University of Ghana on Tuesday.

The Corporate Advisory Team is tasked with the responsibility to advice on how reports of the conference will help advance Ghana’s strategic growth.

The team is chaired by Mr Samuel Okudzeto, a Member of the Council of State and includes Mr Ken Ofori Atta, Minister of Finance, Dr. Ernest Addison, Prof. Olivia Kwapong, Mr. Andrews Dotse and Mrs Regina Afari Boateng.

Covid-19 challenged Ghana’s private sector to be innovative

Speaking at the conference which is on the theme “Covid-19 and Socio economic Dynamics in Ghana”, the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Joseph Siaw Agyepong indicated that Covid-19 as a global pandemic brought innovation into Ghana’s private sector as Companies had to innovate to cope with the challenges that came with the pandemic.

Mr Agyepong pointed out that the innovations such as local production of hand sanitizers, nose masks, hand washing machines, disinfection chemicals among others were some Initiatives local companies and SMEs had to venture into to create new job opportunities.

“We at the Jospong group of Companies and Zoomlion Ghana Limited had to innovate in the areas of assembling technologies and equipments to undertake nationwide disinfection exercises. We had to learn from what the Chinese were doing and locally replicated that by designing and assembling vehicles that can undertake massive disinfection activities”.

Mr Agyepong lauded the visionary leadership of the President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo-Addo during the intensed period of Covid-19 and his support to help local companies innovate to fight Covid-19.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in a statement as the guest speaker indicated that
Ghana recorded one of the lowest Covid-19 deaths rate in the world and this was due to the prudent management of the Covid-19.

He said Ghana was named alongside Korea as one of the best countries to have properly managed the Covid-19.

The President noted that there were no lay off in the public sector as salaries of the public sector workers were not reduced

He added that Ghana remained self-food sufficient country despite the global food supply chain impact due to planting for food and Jobs initiative.

The Chancellor of the University of Ghana, Mrs Mary Chinery-Hesse indicated that since the inception of the annual New Year school and conference in 1948 it has provided a unique platform for national discourse on development issues.

“National and local government agencies, academia and other stakeholders have used this platform to deliberate Ghana’s strategic growth”.

She said the new inaugurated ANYSC Corporate Advisory team will help stimulate economic growth of the country

February 4, 2022
Hungarian President visits Kumasi Wastewater Treatment Plant and signs MoU

As part of his State visit to Ghana, the President of Hungary, H.E. János Áder on Saturday, January 15, 2022, toured the Kumasi Wastewater Treatment Plant (KWTP) at Adagya in the Ashanti Region.

President Áder was in the company of his wife, the First Lady of Hungary, Her Excellency Anita Herzcheq.

The Hungarian President and his delegation who also included the Hungarian Ambassador to Ghana, Tamas Endre Feher, and the Managing Director (MD) of Pureco Kft, Mr Balint, were conducted around the facility by Dr Siaw Agyepong, together with the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Mrs Cecilia Abena Dapaah, and the Ashanti Regional Minister, Mr Simon Osei Mensah.

The 1,000 cubic per day KWTP, a collaboration between Pureco Kft, a Hungarian private sector wastewater technology leader, and JGC, was commissioned in 2021.

The plant has the capacity to serve over two (2) million people in the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area in the Ashanti Region.

It equally has the capacity to receive and treat 150 cesspit tanks of liquid waste trucks on a daily basis.

Significantly, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between JGC and Pureco Kft, as part of plans to replicate the wastewater treatment facility across the country.

The Executive Chairman of JGC, Dr Siaw Agyepong, signed for his group, while the MD of Pureco Kft, Mr Balint, signed for his company, which was witnessed by Mrs Dapaah and Hungary’s Ambassador to Ghana.

In his welcome address, Dr Siaw Agyepong described the Hungarian President’s visit to the plant as historic.

“Today marks a great milestone in Ghana-Hungary relationship as the Jospong Group of Companies has an opportunity, to welcome, His Excellency the President of Hungary, Mr. János Áder, who is on a State visit to Ghana, accompanied by his wife and an official delegation to the Kumasi Waste Water Treatment Plant”, he gladly expressed.

According to him, the strengthened business relationship between Ghana and Hungary has brought loads of benefits to the private sector of both countries, “especially after the visit to Ghana in 2017 by the Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister of Hungary, Mr. Péter Szijjártó.”

“The Jospong Group of Companies took advantage of the new investment opportunity, opened between Ghana and Hungary, after Mr. Péter Szijjártó’s visit, to initiate a number of private sector business consultations with Hungarian Private Sector companies. In the course of our deliberations, we established key partnerships with Pureco Kft, ANY Security Printing Plc and the Hungarian Exim Bank”, he indicated.

That, he added, was with the view of creating business opportunities that will help improve the lives of Ghanaians.

“Mr. President, the outcome of one such technical consultation was the conclusion of a Memorandum of Understanding between Pureco Kft and Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the construction of the Kumasi Waste Water Treatment Plant. The plant, which Your Excellency is visiting today, was constructed by Pureco-Unit Consortium, a Hungarian private sector water and wastewater technology leader. It is the first of its kind in sub-Saharan Africa”, he said.

Dr Siaw Agyepong gave the assurance that his outfit and its partners will ensure the remaining regions benefit from the project, adding that JGC has already commenced discussions to conclude an MoU with Pureco.

“This is to enable the remaining 13 regions of Ghana, which have no access to waste water treatment plants, also to benefit from similar projects under Pureco-Jospong collaboration”, he stressed.

While heaping praise on the Akufo-Addo government for creating an enabling environment for players in the waste management space, Dr Siaw Agyepong commended President Áder for deepening Hungary’s relationship with Ghana.

“Your Excellency President János Áder, permit me to seize this opportunity to also thank you personally and your Hungarian Government for making available to the Jospong Group of Companies a Hungarian Government Exim facility to construct the plants”, he said.

Earlier, the President of Hungary paid a courtesy call on Asantehene, Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, at his Manhyia .

January 14, 2022
Accra Sewerage Systems to expand its operations
The Accra Sewerages Systems Ghana Ltd is set to expand and upgrade its liquid waste treatment plant and technologies to treat more liquid waste within Accra and its environs. The expansion project which is going to be undertaken by EMO, an environmental technology company based in France will help increase the capacity of the plant to treat its current capacity of 2000 to 3500 cubic meters of liquid waste per day. An additional technology which will be added will help sieve out other solid waste which are normally found in the liquid waste that are brought to the facility. At a brief ceremony to sign the agreements to begin works on the expansion, The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong tasked the contractor to build and install a robust technology as promised to help solve the unique composition of Ghana’s liquid waste.

He said issues of Sanitation is a priority in Ghana hence the need to frequently expand and upgrade technologies to meet the increasing disposal of liquid waste in Accra. Dr. Agyepong indicated that work on the Kumasi Liquid waste treatment plant is almost complete and will soon serve the liquid waste treatment needs of the people within the Ashanti region. He revealed that similar works in Western, Tema and Tamale regions have begun and the capacities to be built will help receive all manner of liquid waste and prevent indiscriminate dumping of wastewater which is a health hazard. He tasked the contractor to roll out a local content capacity building where staff will be train in the design and maintenance of the technology to help transfer knowledge to Ghanaians who will be managing the new plant.
Accra Sewage System Expansion: Photo Gallery
The Chief Executive Officer of EMO, Phillippe Hardouin who co- signed the agreement stated that such a partnership with the Jospong group is the first of its kind that a French technology will be used in Ghana to treat liquid waste. He emphasized that the plant to be built is robust and specially designed by top notch engineers to help solve the problem of solid waste mixed together with the liquid waste and the increased generation of waste water. He said the Executive Chairman’s request to train local staff has been considered and will help to properly maintain the plant when installed.

Mr. Hardouin said the technology to be used has never existed anywhere in the world and its uniqueness will bring more investment opportunities in the country.

The Managing Director of Sewerages Systems Ghana Limited, Ing. (Mrs) Florence Cobbold who signed on behalf of the Jospong group said the new plant will expand the company’s operations to receive over 350 cesspit trucks per day which is a huge leap from the previous capacity of 200 trucks per day. She said the expansion is to contain all liquid waste brought to the facility and prevent instances where people will begin to dump at unauthorized places which is due to long queues at the plant.

Mrs Cobbold indicated the new plant will be able to sieve out other components of the waste that are brought to the facility such as used condoms, sanitary pads, diapers among other Solids. She was optimistic that the new project will bring alot of relief to the current handlers of the plant as the automation of the new plant will bring excitement among staff and increase productivity. Sewerages Systems Ghana Limited is the game changer in Ghana’s fight against improper disposal of liquid waste and helped solve Ghana’s 100 year problem of dumping liquid waste into the sea.

Since the establishment of the plant in 2012, it has built similar plant in Adjen Kotoku, James Town, Kumasi and other communities in Ghana. The plant was featured on CNN’s innovative cities as a project which is helping turn human waste into green energy.
April 23, 2021
Jospong Group secures 50 million Euro contract from Hungary government
Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong has secured and signed a contract worth 50 million Euros with the Hungary Government.

The signing ceremony which took place on Thursday, January 28, 2021, at the Embassy of Hungary in Accra was an agreement which would seek to construct wastewater treatment in Takoradi in the Western Region and Tamale in the Northern Region with the first in Kumasi in the Ashanti Region which is near completion.
The project is being funded by the Exim Bank of Hungary.

Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the signing ceremony at the Hungary Embassy in Accra, Dr. Agyepong said the projects are expected to be completed within fifteen months.

Apart from the Kumasi waste treatment plant which according to Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong was near completion, the other two which were yet to commence would be completed within schedule considering the urgency of the need of the plants for the treatment of liquid waste.

He noted that the vision of creating the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources was a laudable one which would facilitate the making of Ghana the cleanest country in Africa.

“…The country is being blessed with the relationship between Ghana and Hungary with the initiatives aimed at solving the sanitation challenges of the country”, Dr. Agyepong noted.

The Hungarian Ambassador, András Szabó noted that the Ghana-Hungarian relationship dated some five years ago, so it was not without reason that the relationship has yielded this remarkable feat.

He said that the construction of the waste treatment plant means Ghana was in the process of achieving SDG goal 6.

They prayed that the relationship would grow bigger yielding greater gain going forward.

The Director of Sanitation, Ing. Anthony Mensah of the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources who represented the sector Minister-designate, Cecilia Abena Daapa indicated that the ministry would ensure that President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of a cleaner Ghana is achieved in due course.
January 29, 2021
JOSPONG Group of Companies Institutes Academic Awards to Students

Management of the University at its meeting held on January 25, 2021, considered a letter of intent from Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) to institute an academic award scheme under the name Joseph Siaw Agyepong Award aimed at supporting the University in its quest to achieve academic excellence. The award scheme is expected to initially run for a period of four years with an amount of twenty-four thousand US Dollars, ($24, 000.00). This amount would be disbursed among the four Colleges of the University; College of Basic and Applied Sciences, College of Health Sciences, College of Humanities and College of Education ($1,500.00 per annum, per College) for two excelling students of each College. The first phase of the collaboration will be for a duration of four (4) years with an annual disbursement of $6,000. As part of the commitment, the Jospong Group of Companies intents to also provide opportunities for some students to undertake internship and educational excursions.

In his presentation, Dr. Richard Amponsah, Chair of the Technical Committee for the UG/JGC collaboration remarked that the award scheme represented the first part of the partnership between the two institutions. He mentioned that the other focus areas of the collaboration included joint research; training, capacity building, joint conferences, strategic corporate social responsibility and development of an innovation park. He emphasized that partnerships between academia and industry are crucial to the discovery of practical solutions to age-old and emerging problems. On behalf of the Jospong Group, he expressed gratitude to the University of Ghana for the warm reception and for embracing the idea. He also mentioned that the awards are being given to affirm the Jospong Group’s deep commitment to the development of the nation, and their belief that education is one of the pillars towards the fulfilment of this agenda.

Speaking on behalf of University Management, Professor Nana Aba Appiah Amfo, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Student Affairs) expressed the University’s appreciation for the gesture and appealed that the Joseph Siaw Agyepong Award Scheme should be extended to 5 years to conform to the policy on the institution of academic prizes in the University. She indicated that this year’s academic prize award ceremony is being considered for March 2021 and that the proposal on the Joseph Siaw Agyepong Award would be taken through the approval processes.

In his remarks, Prof. Ebenezer Oduro Owusu, Vice-Chancellor of the University, also extended his gratitude to the Jospong Group of Companies for the timely intervention. He indicated that there were a couple of students in the University who are brilliant but needy, and others who are doing very well and needed encouragement, and that such interventions from corporate bodies would go a long way in bringing the best out of such students.

Consequently, Chief Operating Officer of Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Samanjith Udumalagala presented a cheque of Twenty-Four Thousand U.S. Dollars to the Vice-Chancellor, to award outstanding students, starting from this academic year.

The University Management acknowledged the demonstration of goodwill by the Jospong Group and expressed its willingness to work with the Group in the other areas highlighted.

The presentation of the cheque was followed by photograph opportunities and informal interactions.

January 28, 2021
JOSPONG Group of Companies appreciates staff during their just enden JLC

Executive Chairman of Jospong Group of Companies (JGC), Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, has commended the gallant workers of his outfit for the role they played in safeguarding the lives of people living in Ghana.

According to him, but for the timely interventions and selfless dedication of the workers of Zoomlion Ghana Limited (ZGL), a subsidiary of JGC, even at the peril of their lives, the deadly Coronavirus disease (Covid-19) would have overwhelmed the nation.

“The advent of the pandemic has altered our usual way of doing business which means that we must also adopt strategies that will be beneficial in this dispensation,” Dr. Agyepong advised.

Speaking on the theme, “Building a Formidable Future Beyond Covid-19, at this year’s (2021) JGC Leadership Conference, Dr. Agyepong indicated that the theme could be achieved only if all workers were unified and resolute about what we do.

Dr. Agyepong was speaking at the 8th in the series of the Jospong Leadership Conference at the Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College on Monday, January 18, 2021

He assured staff members of his group’s resolve to equip each and every one of them with computer literacy skills to enable them to remain relevant in tandem with the fast-growing digitisation convention worldwide.

According to him, Zoomlion especially was bent on ensuring its mandate in making the President, H.E. Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo’s, vision of a cleaner Ghana a reality.

This, he said, the company will do by making major contributions to the national development agenda, particularly in the environmental sanitation sector.

In view of that, he noted that sixteen Integrated Recycling and Composting Plants (IRECOP) in all the sixteen regions of the country would be ready this year.

He revealed that work had commenced for the construction of the Tema Waste Treatment Plant, the Sekondi-Takoradi Waste Water Treatment Plant as well as the Tamale Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Dr. Agyepong said the long-awaited Kumasi Composting and Recycling Plant (KCARP) designed to process 2400 tonnes of solid waste per day had also been commissioned by the President and were now operational.

He said the company intends to invest in the construction of 16 regional offices and an initial 100 district offices to provide staff members with a comfortable working environment.

He further announced the group’s resolve to continue the implementation of what he termed, “One Million Waste Bin Project” and therefore appealed to Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies and other relevant stakeholders to ensure that every household in the country has a waste bin to store its solid waste.

Again, he reiterated his commitment to lend the company’s support to the Church of Pentecost’s Environmental Care Campaign in a bid to ensure success as done in the past two years.

January 23, 2021