The Prime Minister of Denmark, Mette Frederiksen, has ended her two-day visit to Ghana on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
As part of her stay, she visited Tema among other places in the country.
The purpose was in connection to the Strategic Sector Cooperation between the cities of Tema and Aarhus in Denmark in improving water sanitation, and waste management systems, with much focus on the Chemu Lagoon in Tema.
The Chemu Lagoon which used to have a vibrant aquatic life and served as a source of livelihood for natives of Tema, had over the years been reduced to a heavily polluted receptacle taking industrial waste and household garbage.
Underscoring the need for stronger relations with Ghana, Mette Frederiksen said there was the need for cooperation to bring a long-lasting solution to make sure that people are provided with the quality of water and waste management system they need.
She added that Denmark will play its part in ensuring that the partnership between the two countries becomes a reality.
“Hopefully, the cooperation between Denmark and Ghana will proceed and grow even stronger. And we will be able to yield a stronger bridge between Africa and Europe. It is quite obvious that without water we are not able to do anything like humans. So, we need to cooperate and use our resources in the right way to make sure that people are provided with the water that we all need.”
“At the same time, we are talking about big infrastructure projects and securing, for example, the water area. And this is also a cooperation between companies. We have a lot of experts in Denmark, and we have a lot of technology to make this happen”.
The Prime Minister also visited the Tema Port as well as the Osu Castle.
She announced the relationship between Danish Company APM Terminals Bollore and Ghana Ports and Harbours Authority in expanding the Tema Port.
“We are also very interested in helping others. And therefore, we are directly and indirectly involved in securing this area. It is not an easy job, but we are going to continue to be here directly and to take not only our part of responsibility but more than our part. Hopefully, it is sustainable and we support that.”
TMA cautions against dislodging industrial waste into the Chemu lagoon
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Felix Mensah Nii Anang-La, who expressed joy over the partnership cautioned persons to desist from dislodging industrial waste into the Chemu lagoon since the fulfilment of the partnership will also see to the rehabilitation of the sewage system in Tema.
“We are happy that the Prime Minister is here to see it for herself. What is going on is that we have deployed most of our taskforce and most of our members strategically at places so that people who sneak in at night to dislodge this in the Chemu lagoon will go down.”
“As we speak, people are not coming there again just that the harm that was done previously is what we are seeing now, but all this is under control. We’ve deployed our men in strategic areas so that we can arrest anybody who tries to dislodge industrial waste into the Chemu lagoon illegally”.
