Residents of Accra will soon heave a huge sigh of relief with the introduction of large-scale toilet construction projects by the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources in collaboration with the Greater Accra Metropolitan Assembly (GAMA).
The project, to be funded by the World Bank, forms part of efforts by the ministry under the sanitation and water project of GAMA to aid households to own their own toilets at convenient and affordable rates in line with calls by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to promote good sanitation habits among Ghanaians.
Giving details at the launch of the project at Mallam in the Ga South Municipality of the Greater Accra Region, Project Coordinator of GAMA, Mr. Johnson Asiedu, said households interested in owning the facility would be required to pay a subsidised fee of GH¢1,100 to cover the entire construction of the toilet within a week.
According to him, households with already installed dysfunctional toilet facilities would be supported with an amount of GH¢600.00 to aid in the completion while households that cannot afford the full amount are allowed to make commitments and further pay in installments while the facility is installed in their homes within a month.
The move to reduce the cost of the facility, according to the project coordinator, is to reach out to more residents who could not afford the previous price, mitigate the outbreak of cholera and other communicable diseases as well as help reduce the rate of open defecation in national capital. He urged all households to take advantage of the offer to avoid prosecution by the state.
“We will start cracking the whip on recalcitrant persons who fail to comply with the directive. Our sanitation and health inspection officers will soon embark on house to house inspection to check every household,” he added.
In an address, a deputy Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Mr. Michael Gyato, said the target of the ministry is to champion the transformation of the sanitation development agenda to reinforce the fight against bad sanitation practices in Ghana with a targeted 19,500 toilets to be constructed during the period.
Mr. Gyato said he was of strong conviction that the project that would run for the next 12 months would on completion contribute immensely towards improving the deplorable sanitation especially open defecation.
“We are fully aware that we have certain attitude which has become part of our sub culture. There are people who boast of open defecation. We have to be disciplined as a people and change our attitude,” he said.
He noted that sanitation and in particular the construction of toilets was an important driver to the health, economic and social development of any nation, noting that, it was however sad to state that despite the progress Ghana chalked in the other areas of national development, little progress had been made for environmental sanitation.
He said the ministry is currently preparing an integrated urban environmental sanitation master plan for GAMA aimed at ensuring an effective management of environmental sanitation including solid waste and liquid waste and also to provide guidelines for the implementation of sanitation laws.
Some beneficiaries of the project in the area expressed joy at the intervention by the Ministry and GAMA in accessing toilets, which they hitherto had to join long queues every morning at the only public toilet in the area.
Launched in 2013, the GAMA SWP is government of Ghana project supported by the World Bank, the International Development Agency (IDA) and the Global Partnership for output-based aid.
Story: Gottlieb BAAKO
Writer’s email: gottlieb.baako@todaygh.com