Blame KMA For Landfill Site Workers Demo And Shut Down

The Management of J Stanley Owusu, a waste management company, has blamed the Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly (KMA) for its inability to pay its personnel at the Kumasi Landfill and the Liquid Waste Treatment Plant having failed to pay the company for over two years.

The Chief Executive Officer, Mr William Stanley Owusu said the KMA currently owed J Stanley Owusu, over two years arrears of services it had rendered at the Kumasi Landfill and Liquid Waste Treatment Plant, hence its indebtedness to workers at the site.

The about 100 workers locked up the two sites last week to mount pressure on management to pay their seven month outstanding salaries.

Reacting to the incident, the KMA Public Relations Officer, Mr Godwin Nyame  said the assembly owed J Stanley Owusu only three months but Mr Stanley-Owusu denied that saying "last week's incident must be blamed solely on the KMA.

"The assembly has not paid us for over two years now even though we have been discharging our duties at the two sites diligently despite the non-payment".

Mr Stanley-Owusu said the publication had depicted his company as irresponsible, unable to pay the salaries of its workers when in fact; it was the failure of the KMA not to pay in spite of persistent demands.

"Despite the non-payment, we haven't reneged on our duties. We have been providing all the logistics and other related materials needed to ensure the efficient management of both the landfill and the liquid waste treatment plant over this three year period to help keep the city of Kumasi clean."

He called on the KMA to take immediate steps to settle its indebtedness to his company so it would be able to pay the workers and improve on the management of the landfill and the liquid waste treatment plant.

He added, that it was also important for the KMA to pay its arrears to prevent a recurrence of last week's incident which when allowed, could worsen the sanitation situation in the garden city.

"We have paid the workers a month's salary from our own funds since the incident but they have threatened to lock up the two sites by January 3, 2016, if all arrears are not paid up now", Mr Stanley-Owusu said.