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| A cross section of Worshippers at the Tamale Central Mosque |
The Assistant Operations Supervisor of Zoomlion Ghana Limited for the Northern Region, Mr. Abdullah Abdulai, has appealed to residents of Tamale to desist from indiscriminate littering and dumping of waste in unauthorised places.
He also appealed to the residents to stop the burning of refuse in communal containers provided by Zoomlion, as the act destroys the containers.
Mr. Abdulai was speaking at Zoomlion’s Public Education Campaign in Islamic Communities at the Central Mosque in Tamale recently, where over one thousand worshippers had gathered for Friday prayers.
The Supervisor was of the opinion that the services the company renders in the region consisting of landscaping and beautification; door to door waste collection; water supply; cesspit emptying; janitorial and the hiring of heavy-duty equipment, were all geared towards making the city of Tamale clean, green and a healthy place to live.
He added that the company’s doors are open and will readily give its support to the community whenever such requests are made appropriately.
Supporting Mr. Abdulai, the renowned Islamic educationist and theologian, Sheik Ishak Nuamah, emphasised the need for Muslims to practice what their religion calls on them to do in respect of personal cleanliness and environmental sanitation.
He stated that Zoomlion as a waste management and environmental sanitation company sees Islam as a religion that preaches cleanliness and therefore appealed to the people to work hard to affirm Zoomlion’s impression about the people in Islamic communities.
The Imam of the Tamale Central Mosque, Sheikh Abdul Salam, also used the platform to educate the people on Islam’s stand on sanitation, be it environmental or personal hygiene. “Islam is a religion of cleanliness and every Muslim should keep his/her surroundings clean”, he said.
He cited the example of ablution as a clear indication of how much premium the Islamic religion places on environmental sanitation and personal hygiene.
Sheikh Abdul Salam advised the public to put a stop to the indiscriminate littering of the environment, a situation which he believes has a veritable link with the incidence of diseases such as malaria and cholera. “Environmental sanitation is a shared responsibility as we must all come together to fight filth. The government and Zoomlion cannot do this alone so everybody must join hands in this fight”, he admonished.
The Communications Officer of Zoomlion in Charge of Public Education, Mr. Ernest Asiedu Caesar, used the occasion to thank the people of Tamale for helping Zoomlion Ghana Limited to keep the city clean and also encouraged them to avoid indiscriminate dumping. Mr. Asiedu Caesar further admonished the people of Tamale to treat the staff of the company with respect, especially the street sweepers and tricycle riders, as their work is very vital to the beautification of the environment and public health.
In an interview, the Communications Manager of Zoomlion, Mrs. Isabella Gyau Orhin, said Zoomlion Ghana Limited is grateful to Sheikh Nuamah for partnering the company in its bid to reach out to the Islamic community. “So far we have been to six regions and we are determined to reach all Muslims with the good news of environmental sanitation,” She said.
