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Ministry to stem
dumping of toxic waste in Ghana
Accra, April 2, Ghanadot/GNA –
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Minister of Communications, on Thursday said
his Ministry in collaboration with relevant institutions would
“get tough” on persons and institutions engaged in the shipment
and dumping of toxic wastes in the country.
He made the remark during a forum and exhibition to mark the
20th anniversary celebration of the operations of Omanfofor
Company Limited, a subsidiary of Canon South Africa in Ghana.
Omanfofor was incorporated in Ghana in 1989 as the sole dealer
and distributor of Canon Business Solution (CBS) products. The
company had since been at the forefront of the distribution of
world branded ICT solutions.
Mr Iddrisu noted that dumping of toxic waste within the environs
of Agbogbloshie, a suburb of Accra, recently attracted
international concern, adding that, it was time that all
stakeholders, including dealers, manufacturers, the state,
responded to the menace.
“In that regard my Ministry in collaboration with the relevant
institutions would take stringent measures to prevent the
shipment and dumping of toxic waste in the country,” he said.
He noted that most electronic equipment was extremely hazardous
to both human and the environment once disposed of, adding that
computer companies had a share in the responsibility for the
improper disposal of old electronic devices.
The Minister charged all ICT related organisations in the
country to join in the effort to stem the importation and
dumping of electronic waste in the country.
He recalled the “remarkable” contribution of Omanfofor to the
growth of the use of ICT in Ghana, saying that, Omanfofor had
become a household name in Ghana through the efficiency of its
products including Canon copiers, fax machines, printers,
document readers, scanners, cameras, calculators, UPS,
anti-viruses, Dell desktop, laptop and servers among other
things.
Mr Iddrisu was however worried that, foreign manufacturers
benefited more from the local consumption of Omanfofor and other
ICT products, saying that there was the need to also develop
human capacity in the country to manufacture and or assemble ICT
equipment for local consumption.
He said the introduction of the Government Assisted PC Programme
(GAPP), Community Information Centres, Technology Parks and
Development of Incubatord were intended for that purpose.
The Minister also observed the proliferation of fake ICT
equipment on the market and assured the genuine dealers that in
addition to the four ICT legislations recently passed by
Parliament, the Ministry was preparing supplementary bills
purposely to support the industry and protect genuine operators
like Omanfofor.
“I believe this initiative will create the needed enabling
environment for foreign direct investment in the industry, as
well as whip up local initiative in computer programming,
software development and hardware manufacturing, in line with
government policy,” he said.
Mr Iddrisu also noted that dealers in ICT products were not
noted for social responsibility activities and urged Omanfofor
to set the pace in making some contribution to the community it
operated in.
Ms Vivian Baitie, Managing Director of Omanfofor said the
company was currently working with its collaborators to
undertake a project through the Ministry of Education to ensure
that all school children in Ghana got computers as a matter of
right and not luxury.
Mr Gian De Vallier, Managing Director of Canon South Africa
assured the minister that Canon products were toxic free and
that high standards were adhered to from the host country before
Canon products were exported to anywhere in the world.
He said the turnover of the company for 2008 was US$45 billion;
higher than that of 2007, which stood at US$39.3 billion.
He urged Ghanaians to patronise Canon products saying that, they
were of the highest quality, user friendly, well designed,
stylish and connectivity ready.
Canon employs 131,000 people in 239 subsidiaries around the
world and is ranked 182nd based on sale revenue, 124th based on
profits and 100th based on market capitalization on the Fortune
500 global companies’ rankings.
GNA
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