Accra is generally clean – Sanitation Minister insists

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah says Accra is generally clean, despite government’s inability to fulfil the promise of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa by 2020.

She made the statement in Parliament on Thursday while answering a question posed to her on sanitation in the country.

The Minister also outlined various measures the President has put in place to make Accra clean.

“There will always be challenges as the population grows and people migrate. Yes, there are challenges and I extensively brought to the Floor some of these challenges when I briefed the House. For instance, the honourable member was speaking about last week’s rain, the plastics are under the Ministry of Science, Environment, and Technology and the dredging is also under the ambit of the Ministry of Works and Housing.”

“The Ministry for the Works and Housing went around the city and visited the Aslyum down area and I know he is also giving contracts for drain dredging and I believe the Minister is capable of finding the needed solution but generally, I can say Accra is clean,” she said.

Background

President Nana Akufo-Addo had promised to make Accra the cleanest city by the end of his first tenure but this was later revised by the Sanitation Ministry to the end of his second term should he be voted for in the upcoming general elections.

In a bid to achieve the vision, the Minister said President Akufo-Addo had prioritized the sanitation sector in the country.

“His Excellency the president is so serious with this call to all of us, to make Accra the cleanest and Ghana a clean country. He has put the Ministry of Sanitation and Natural Resource on the top priority list of government to be able to access the budget that we need,” she added.

Poor sanitation costs Ghana $290m annually 

Cecilia Abena Dapaah, at a Meet the Press Series, had said the country loses about $290 million annually due to poor sanitation in the country.

She said the amount is equivalent to $12 per person per year which translates to 1.6% of the country’s GDP.