A ceremony has been held in Accra to induct into office a nine -member Board of Trustees to oversee the activities of the KNUST Institute of Sanitation and Waste management (KISWM). The Institute which opens in 2013 aims at building the capacity of people in waste management and to draw the attention of government and stakeholders to the waste and sanitation problems facing the nation. The Board of Trustees has the Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Professor William Otoo Ellis as chairman. Other members on the board include the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Zoomlion Group of companies Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, Professor Yebo Okra, Lecturer at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Professor Emeritus Kwame Sarpong, Dr. Patrick Cline, Head of the Institute, Professor Ernest Yanful, University of Western Ontario in Canada, Chief Director of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Nana Oduro Kwarteng and a representative of the financial sector. In an address the Chief Executive Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited, Dr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong said the vision to establish the Institute was borne out of the reality that there was the need to build the capacity of Ghanaians and waste management practitioners in other African countries. He said the institute will look at areas such as the treatment of hospital waste as well as other forms of waste treatment that are currently not available in the country. In his acceptance remarks, the chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Otoo Ellis acknowledged the heavy mandate entrusted into the hands of the Board and pledged to ensure that the Institute becomes the best in Ghana and in the African sub region. “Capacity in the Waste management industry is limited and it is the duty of the Institute to fill the technological gap by training the man power needs of the people”, he said. He added that the Institute was anticipated to run short courses in waste management and higher courses in same. The Chief Director of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development Nana Oduro Kwarteng in his closing remarks commended Zoomlion for the initiative it has taken in establishing the Institute since there was the need to build the capacity of local government authorities in waste management. “The establishment of an institute to tackle waste in the country is long overdue. Government is very happy and commends Zoomlion for this timely intervention,” he said.