GIZ, MESTI present office equipment to E-Waste Roundtable Association
By Fauzeeya JAMAL-DEEN, Accra
The E-Waste Programme, implemented by GIZ Ghana, in partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI) has handed over office equipment to the E-Waste Roundtable Association (EWROTA) to enhance the operations of the association.
The newly established EWROTA secretariat was furnished with furniture and IT equipment such as laptops, desktops, printers, a router, a mobile phone, tables, chairs, air conditioners among others.
Technical Advisor for the E-waste Programme, Joseph Sikanartey, in his address at the handing over ceremony, urged the secretariat to utilise the equipment to achieve its objectives.
“We hope that the secretariat and its function will stimulate better business for private sector and encourage sustainable e-waste management practices,” he said.
Director of Policy, Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation at MESTI, Lydia Essuah, advised the association to use the equipment to strengthen its activities and become more vibrant.
“We needed to see some more activity within the association, but we also noticed that there were some capacity gaps that led to the Ministry, GIZ and EWROTA discussing and coming up with the decision for some equipment to be bought to support the operations of the association,” she stated.
She also urged EWROTA to work towards increasing its membership to grow the association.
Receiving the equipment on behalf of the secretariat, President of EWROTA, Gilbert Odjidja said the furnishings will help serve the members of EWROTA better and help get new members on board.
“We believe that a functioning and well-equipped secretariat will enable us to better serve the interests of our members. We look forward to forging better partnerships and synergies with local and international players in the e-waste sector. And for this, we extend our gratitude to the GIZ E-Waste Programme for their continued support and faith in the association,” he added.
The association, which is made up of about 14 e-waste treatment firms, aims to improve cooperation within the private sector and contribute significantly to public sector policy formulation.
The E-Waste Programme provided technical assistance in areas such as partnerships, interactions with the informal sector, and sectoral dialogues with the municipal and metropolitan assemblies when the association was established in 2021.
The E-Waste Programme is a Technical Cooperation commissioned by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development BMZ and implemented by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in partnership with the Ghana Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation (MESTI).
Its objective is to improve the conditions for sustainable management and disposal of electronic waste in Ghana.
