CEESDl CEESD calls for investment into sanitation delivery in Ghana

CEESD calls for increased private sector investment in sanitation delivery
December 7, 2011

With barely four years remaining to reach the MDG target-year of 2015, sanitation progress in Ghana is so low the MDG target will not be met. As the MDG Target date of 2015 draws near the need to vigorously pursue and implement improvements has become more urgent. The top 6 diseases in Ghanaian hospitals are all related to poor environmental sanitation. It is against this backdrop that NESCON 2011 was organized. The Conference focused on how Ghana can accelerate the coverage of all environmental sanitation services – upscaling country-wide sanitation behaviour change communication using Community-led Total Sanitation, hygienic management of excreta and sustainable access to improved sanitation, improving operation, maintenance and management of services and treatment facilities, and developing a sustainable programme for promoting household sanitation through micro-finance institutions and rural banks; as well as showcasing the advances made in the application of the latest technologies for attaining wastes reduction, re-use, recycling and recovery.

NESCON-2011 provided a platform to discuss achievements made over the past year and to devise strategies and mechanisms for making rapid progress among stakeholders – politicians, academics, traditional authorities, media, sector practitioners, private operators, NGOs, and insurers, among others. The conference focused mainly on:

· The State of Environmental Sanitation in Ghana;

· Government commitment to the funding of sanitation interventions;

· Government PPP Policy and Strategic Objectives;

· Operationalising Revolving Funds for delivery of environmental sanitation services;

· Decentralised Governance Mechanisms and Services Delivery;

· Pollution Abatement, By-Product Recovery Technologies and Strategies;

· Land Acquisition and Management for Treatment/Disposal of Wastes;

· Participatory Methods for Behavioural Change – Community-Led Total Sanitation;

· Performance Management and Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation; and

· Highlights on Ghana's Five Year Drive for Sanitation.

In a special presentation delivered by CEESD’s bioenergy coordinator, Ing. Edem Bensah, a call was made for active involvement of the private sector in the provision of sanitation facilities. By giving several case studies, Ing. Bensah demonstrated how investments into sanitation facilities such as modern ecological public toilets and urinals can yield substantial profits unknown to the ordinary businessman. He further appealed to the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to join forces with CEESD and other bodies to develop CDM programme of activities targeting in the sanitation sector as a way of attracting sustainable inflows of capital and technology into the sector. Corroborating the request by Ing. Bensah, the Chairman of the Conference, Dr. Atta who represented the Asantehene, Otumfuor Osei-Tutu II, called for increased investment in waste-to-energy technologies. Further, he called for a halt on the practice of using untreated wastewater in irrigation of vegetables and other agricultural produce. The Minister for MLGRD, Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, on his part assured participants of Government’s support for the sector. He said Government is deeply concerned on the lack of basic sanitation facilities. According to him, Government is financing the construction of two modern landfill sites at Takoradi and Kpone in addition to the provision of refuse trucks, motor bikes, vehicles, and other equipment needed in the provision of sanitation services.