Government to establish National Sanitation Fund to address Ghana’s Sanitation Challenges

Government to establish National Sanitation Fund to address Ghana’s Sanitation Challenges

Government will establish a National Sanitation Fund this year as part of measures to address the sanitation situation in the country in a sustainable manner, said the Minister for Finance, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta. He has announced this in Accra during the presentation of the Budget Statement and Economic Policy of the Government of Ghana for the 2017 Financial Year to Parliament on Thursday, 2nd March, 2017.

According to the Finance Minister, the situation in which Ghana currently finds its self with respect to sanitation, leaves much to be desired. “In order to address this situation fundamentally, the focus and mandate of the new Ministry will be to pursue a persistent and dedicated effort through a Comprehensive National Sanitation Strategy and Total Sanitation Campaign across the country to transform attitudes of the general public towards basic hygiene and environmental sanitation. To sustain the gains made through the promotion of environmental sanitation, logistical support and infrastructure development such as dedicated refuse collection systems, engineered landfill sites and sewerage treatment plants will be provided,” Mr. Ofori-Atta emphasized.

The Finance Minister stated that the new Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources would be capacitated to consolidate the various policies and programmes into a comprehensive National Sanitation Programme and Action Plan that will facilitate the implementation of the Clean Ghana Campaign and take further steps to explore the establishment of a dedicated Environment and Sanitation Agency to more effectively deal with the sanitation situation in collaboration with the MMDAs.

To ensure the enforcement of sanitation bye-laws, Mr. Ofori-Atta has stated that the Sanitation and Water Resources Ministry would provide appropriate uniforms and identification for 4,500 Environmental Health Officers nationwide to ensure visibility and enforcement of environmental sanitation and basic hygiene bye-laws. To give impetus to the enforcement of sanitation bye-laws, the Finance Minister has indicated Government’s intention to introduce the Sanitation Module of the National Youth Employment Programme initiated under the Kufuor’s administration and reactivate the Sanitation Courts concept across the country as well as work with the National Service Secretariat and Youth Employment Programme to form a Sanitation Policing Outfit and Clubs to support the work of Environmental Health Officers to step up the enforcement and compliance of existing bye-laws on environmental sanitation. 

On household latrines, Mr. Ken Ofori-Atta said the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources under the ‘One House One Toilet’ programme, will collaborate with the GAMA project to construct at least 15,000 household toilets in low-income communities in the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area and an additional 5,000 household toilets under the National Accelerated Toilet Access Programme in the three regions of the North.