Accra, Oct. 30, GNA – Government, through the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI), on Friday, presented 20 vehicles to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to enhance its operations across the country.
The vehicles, comprising ten Toyota pickups and ten Toyota Land Cruiser Prados, were to be distributed to EPA offices in all the 16 regions to solve the deficit problems the Agency faced with transportation for the execution of its mandate.
Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng, the Minister, MESTI, who handed over the vehicles to the Agency, said EPA was one of the most important Agencies in the country because “everything revolved around the environment.”
The EPA, he said, played a crucial role in the adoption of the Plastic Management Policy, its implementation Plan, setting up of the Resource Recovery Secretariat and in the processes of implementing the ‘E-Waste Law’.
“To do their work well, they, therefore, need to be mobile. We think that all the new regions and old ones will now have a vehicle to effectively carry out their duties,” he added.
Dr Henry Kwabena Kokofu, the Executive Director, EPA, expressed gratitude to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, for the support.
He said it was the core mandate of the Agency to ensure that environmental sanitation, safeguards, and protection of natural resources were achieved.
“We pledge that we will not disappoint the President, we will not disappoint the Minister and the people of Ghana. We shall put to good use the vehicles that you have given us and we hope to ask for more,” he added.
Dr Kokofu said the EPA had a total workforce of 380 nationwide, which was woefully inadequate and served as a hindrance in the delivery of services.
He, however, said the Agency had received approval from the government to recruit additional 250 young men and women, who were qualified and prepared to deliver on the mandate of the EPA.
The Executive Director also said the Agency was working towards securing a more spacious office structure to be able to work effectively and comfortably while observing the social distancing protocol in the wake of the COVID-19.
“The EPA has many proponents, including the mining sector, petroleum sector, film industry, hospitality industry, health sector, education, and agricultural sector and we have to service all of them.
“So having less office space with cramped and less personnel, doesn’t help to progress our work. Sometimes, we are forced to let some of our staff work from home, while others stay in the office due to the inadequate space,” he said.
The EPA, formally established on December 30, 1994 (Act 490), has a responsibility to regulate the environment and ensure the implementation of Government policies for the protection of land, air, and water.
GNA