The discussion among most Ghanaians as the 13th African Games came to a close in Ghana over the weekend revolves around the massive patronage of the games, especially as the curtains were about to come down.
The finals of the U-20 men’s football match between Ghana and Uganda, held at the Accra Sports Stadium, drew a large number of spectators and football fanatics, who visited the 40,000-capacity stadium after a long while, especially considering the Black Stars’ recent failure to meet expectations.
As theory suggests, large crowds are associated with waste generation and indiscriminate disposal of the same.
However, the measures and strategies put in place by Zoomlion, a total waste management solutions company, made it appear as though the crowd at the Accra Sports Stadium, and indeed all the other venues that hosted the Games, did not generate any waste at all.
According to Madam Jamillah Ghartey, the Senior Monitoring and Service Quality Officer of the company responsible for sanitation at the Accra Sports Stadium, they deployed over 100 personnel who worked in two shifts to ensure that no waste was left unattended.
In an interview, she mentioned that before the start of every sporting activity at the venue, the morning shift personnel would sweep the stands to collect any waste left behind from the night before, and also clean the washrooms.
“During the games, too, we periodically walked through the stands to collect especially plastic waste and cleaned the washrooms every 5 to 10 minutes to maintain the cleanliness of the place for the next users,” she stressed.
Zoomlion provided well-labelled bins for the collection of general waste and plastic waste. Additionally, the company dedicated five compassion trucks; one solely for the collection and transportation of plastic waste and the others for general waste.
She commended the patrons of the games for cooperating with the personnel of Zoomlion to ensure that the work was done seamlessly.
“Without their cooperation, we might have had a difficult time keeping the venues clean, especially during the games,” she noted. Ms. Ghartey added that waste management is not the responsibility of one person or institution but a collective effort by all stakeholders.
Even though it was impossible to interact with the facility manager, the patrons, who were elated with the quality of service provided by Zoomlion, called for an extension of their contract to ensure that they regularly keep the stadia clean, so the facilities do not deteriorate.
A patron, Nii Armah, stated, “Once again, Zoomlion has lived up to its billing in providing world-class sanitation services at the Games. Kudos to them.”
Prior to the start of the Games, which are held every four years, Zoomlion provided special training to its sanitation officers to enhance the company’s provision of sanitation services at the various stadiums and sports facilities hosting the 13th All African Games in Accra from the 8th to 24th of March 2024.
The recruits, trained at the Army Peace Operations Training School (APOTS) at Bundase Training Camp, underwent intensive two-week training in basic management skills, drill, cleaning, self-discipline, physical fitness, time management, teamwork, and crowd control, among others.
The 13th African Games are being held in Ghana between 8th and 23rd March 2024. This is the second time in history that the games have been decentralized, as three cities in the host country are hosting the event. The chosen cities for these events are Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast.
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