Homa bay: The President of Kenya, Dr. William Samoei Ruto, has commended Zoomlion Ghana Limited for its significant investment in state-of-the-art facilities aimed at providing waste management solutions across African countries. He expressed his appreciation for the facilities Zoomlion had deployed to address waste management problems in several African nations.
According to Ghana News Agency, President Ruto made the commendation during the official opening of Kenya's 2025 Devolution Conference, hosted in Homa Bay County. This was after he visited Jospong Group's stand at the Pavilion and Exhibition Booth, where the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, explained how Zoomlion Ghana Limited and its subsidiary companies tackled waste in Ghana and across Africa.
Dr. Siaw Agyepong highlighted that the waste management companies under Zoomlion included the Accra Compost and Recycling Plant, Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant, Waste Landfills, Medical Waste Services Limited, Landfill Technologies Services, and Kumasi Compost and Recycling Plant. He emphasized that these companies were providing technology-driven solutions to African waste management challenges.
Organized by the Council of Governors, the DevCon2025 brought together over 11,000 delegates, including government officials, county governors, development partners, the private sector, civil society, and international stakeholders. Distinguished attendees included all 47 county governors, members of county assemblies, and the Senate, among others. The four-day conference, held from August 12 to 15, was under the theme: 'For the People, For Prosperity: Devolution as a Catalyst for Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice.'
The 9th edition of the Kenya Devolution Conference, hosted in Homa Bay County, examined devolution's role in realizing equity, inclusion, and social justice in Kenya. During the conference, Dr. Siaw Agyepong unveiled an ambitious plan to transform Kenya's waste management landscape and create more than 52,000 jobs annually. He proposed a clustering operation into regional counties to facilitate effective and efficient waste management across Kenya.
Dr. Agyepong shared that with a population of about 57 million generating approximately 28,000 tonnes of waste daily, the clustering operations would involve about five counties sharing one integrated waste facility. This strategy aims to create approximately 52,000 jobs annually through the establishment of waste management treatment plants, similar to those in Ghana.
The proposed clustering of Kenyan counties strategy, revealed by the Jospong Group Executive Chairman, was widely applauded. It was anticipated to generate 30,000 jobs from waste collection, transportation, and sweeping, and 21,000 jobs from integrated waste management plant operations. Additionally, 1,800 jobs would come from green initiatives, data collection, monitoring, and validation within the carbon market.
Dr. Agyepong emphasized the need for Kenya to harness the potential of Jospong Group's operations in Ghana, stating: 'Together, Ghana and Kenya can build and sustain efficient waste management systems within counties.' He noted the potential in waste management by saying: 'There is no such thing as waste - only misplaced resources. Let us recover and recycle them for the benefit of our people.'
He concluded his address with a two-minute video from Zoomlion Ghana Limited. As the video ended, the auditorium erupted in applause from the delegates. This marked the first participation of a West African conglomerate, the Jospong Group from Ghana, in Kenya's Devolution Conference.
