Dredge Masters Limited (DML), a Ghanaian desilting company, has acquired two multipurpose dredgers to upscale its capacity in tackling dredging and flooding challenges in the country.
Called “Amphibious Dredgers (Water master Classic V ) ” , the equipment is used for shallow water desilting and is each built to undertake several activities including cutting, raking and piling, otherwise done by different machines.
DML, which is a subsidiary of the Jospong group of companies, inaugurated the latest addition to its fleet at a ceremony held in Accra yesterday on the theme “Dredging for national development-improving lives”.
It brought together government officials and traditional and religious leaders including the National Chief Iman , Sheikh Osman Nuhu Sharubutu and other stakeholders.
Minister of Works and Housing, Samuel Atta Akyea, who inaugurated the equipment told the gathering that flooding in Accra and its attendant problems had reduced in recent times due to the dredging of the Korle Lagoon and other water bodies being undertaken by the company despite delays in government’s financial commitment.
Extolling the capabilities of the company, he said its work was a testament of the need to encourage and involve capable indigenous companies in the country’s development drive as well as make development apolitical otherwise Ghana’s growth would be stagnant.
To boost efforts in making the region flood resilient through several activities including the dredging of the Odaw river, he said cabinet had approved $200 million credit facility from the World Bank for the proposed Greater Accra Resilient and Integrated Development Project and was awaiting parliamentary approval.
Aside this, Mr Akyea said the government would continue to explore other avenues to ensure flooding became history in the country.
The Accra Metropolitan Chief Executive, Mohammed Adjei Sowah, urged religious and traditional bodies to use their respective platforms to drum home the need to stop environmental pollution of all forms to complement government’s efforts.
The Managing Director (MD) of Dredge Masters, Captain Khan, said the new machines offered “the latest cutting edge technology to shallow and can deal with different challenging situations more effectively.”
He said they were acquired in partnership with Aquamec Limited in Finland, a leading manufacturer of amphibious dredgers, in a bid to improve its operations and prevent a reoccurrence of the June 3, 2015 flood.
The company, which was set up after that disaster, according to the MD, was geared to offer sustainable and environmentally friendly solution in its area of expertise.
” As we provide these equipment to dredge our shallow water to ease the flow of water and reduce flooding, we appeal to Ghanaians to desist from using these drainages as dumping sites”, he said.
The National Chief Iman in a message delivered on his behalf said environmental protection was a shared responsibility and in that respect called for attitudinal change on the part of the citizenry as other stakeholders tackled the expertise and technology aspects of addressing the sanitation challenge.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
