2018 SONA: GHC200m Set Aside For Sanitation

Government is working with various private sector players to improve sanitation in the country, President Nana Akufo Addo has said.

To successfully achieve this goal, the President revealed that government will spend an amount of 200 million cedis.

He made this known when he delivered his second State of the Nation Address in Parliament today [Thursday].

“Government is working with various private sector authorities to tackle this major challenge with strategies that are intended to effect a change in our attitudes towards waste and filth as well as improve dramatically our methods of waste management. This will be complemented by the strict enforcement of sanitation rules and regulations.”

“Urgent attention will be given to clearing of rubbish all around the country. Apart from the systematic efforts being made to resolve the legacy of inherited debts in the sector, government will spend an amount of 200 million cedis to address the issue of sanitation.”

The President also expressed concerns about the poor sanitary conditions in the country, describing it as “unacceptable.”

“Our cities have been engulfed by filth and there is the urgent need for public authorities to finance and make our cities clean and in the case of Accra, fulfilling my pledge, one of the most ambitious of my presidency, to make it the cleanest city of Accra by the end of my term”.

Ghanaians have however cast doubts about the promise, considering the insanitary conditions in Accra and other parts of the country.

Just recently, the Australia’s Ambassador to Ghana, Andrew Barnes, took to Twitter to express his frustration over the poor sanitary conditions close to the Embassy in Cantonments.

Despite these challenges, the Minster of Sanitation, Kofi Adda, has however indicated that government has not abandoned strategic plans aimed at making Accra the cleanest city in Africa.

In 2017, government launched an elaborate national sanitation campaign, although not much has happened yet.

Gov’t secures $3m for national sanitation master-plan

Government has also launched what it calls the Integrated Urban Environmental Sanitation Master Plan (IUESMP), to complement all existing strategies in the sanitation, drainage and water management sub-sectors to holistically deal with sanitation and waste.

The initiative is worth $3 million, and is funded by the World Bank. The memorandum of understanding was signed between the government and the World Bank in October 2017.

Source: Citifmonline