Eng. George Asiedu, Coordinator for GAMA/ GKMA SWP
The Coordinator for the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project (SWP), Engineer George Asiedu says, a target of 19,100 households toilets for the parent project of GAMA SWP was successfully achieved. According to him, the parent project was completed in December 2020 and was very successful with an achievement of 34,500 households having access to improved toilets.This he said, might have contributed significantly to Ghana’s fight against COVID-19, particularly when the COVID-19 was at it peak in the Region of Accra.
The GAMA/ GKMA Sanitation and Water Project (SWP) Coordinator was of the view that, because they were also able to help over 10,000 households to have access to water supply in their homes when government’s intervention of free water was implemented, contributed greatly in the flight against COVID-19.
Engineer Asiedu said this in an interview with the media at the Mole XXXII WASH Conference on Tuesday November 2, 2021 in Ejisu in the Ashanti Region of Ghana.
According to him, following the success of the project, the Government of Ghana in collaboration with the World Bank sort to replicate same in Kumasi, which is the second city of Ghana. Hence, the replication of the project was in Kumasi known as the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project (GKMASWP), which has the same Manu of interventions as that of Accra.
“Over 30,000 households are targeted for toilet facilities and 120 institutions such as schools and health care facilities with improved toilet facilities and also support capacity development of Municipal Assemblies in Sanitation management , all in our bid to support Sanitation improvement in the Country” Engineer George Asiedu noted.
Adding that, within the period, they are thinking of developing a nation wide approach towards improving access to Sanitation, using Kumasi as a stepping stone to develop a programme that could scale up to the entire Country.
The GAMA GKMA SWP Coordinator says, there is an ongoing study on institutional policy and financial framework for Sanitation Management for the WASH sector and they are getting a World Bank support to do that study. According to him, that calls for a need to have a framework within which we can manage sanitation.
Engineer Asiedu was quick to add that, there is an ongoing National WASH programme, which is going to adopt some of the existing concepts in addition to other ongoing model that is being practiced else where.
” It is the aim of Government to have a national programme on sanitation where everyone can feed into it.
The National WASH programme is taking motivation from Government’s plan of making Accra the cleaners City, by extension, the whole of Ghana”, he noted.
Speaking on challenges, Engineer George Asiedu said , challenges in terms of developing the Programme are minimal, but the challenges that they will have to deal with are huge. He indicated that, the sanitation situation has improved from the coverage of about 11% in 2015 to 33% in 2021. “Even with the significant improvement, we are still far behind because, 33% is way behind the Sustainable Development Goal. Hence to attain the SDG 6, a lot of work needs to be done”, he opines.
The objective of the project is to increase access to improved sanitation and improved water supply in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) and Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) with emphasis on low income communities and to strengthen management of environmental sanitation in the GAMA and the GKMA.
Source: newslinkgh.wordpress.com
