The government of Ghana has recently announced the creation of a National Sanitation Authority and a dedicated sanitation fund. The objective is to improve the monitoring of the various sanitation projects in the country.
“In order to effectively coordinate efforts to improve sanitation in Ghana, the government has initiated the process of establishing a National Sanitation Authority and a National Sanitation Fund”.Mahamudu Bawumia, the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana made that statement during a recent trip to the Volta region.
This is an important decision in a country where the government has set itself the goal of improving access to sanitation services for its population. According to Mahamudu Bawumia, the National Sanitation Authority should support the government’s sanitation efforts, but more importantly mobilise resources and human capacity to improve the sector in Ghana.
The new agency should also deal with current issues in the sanitation sector in Ghana. This includes the provision of 20,000 waste bins throughout the country. The company will work with Zoomlion, which is responsible for waste management in several cities in this West African country. The Authority should also work with security agencies to protect the country’s water resources.
“The quality of life we want for our communities is closely linked to the way we manage water and sanitation. Living in a good society and in a well-managed environment for water, sanitation and hygiene is something we should all wish for ourselves and our children,” says the Vice-President of the Republic of Ghana.
The Sanitation Fund, for its part, should be used to mobilise funding for the implementation of the various sanitation projects in Ghana. The government relies on the private sector to improve sanitation, including wastewater treatment. For example, the Ghanaian company Jospong Group of Companies (JGC) and the Hungarian company Pureco are building wastewater treatment plants that will handle part of the wastewater from Tamale in the northern region, Kumasi in the Ashanti region and Takoradi, the capital of the western region.
Jean Marie Takouleu
