Ghana’s sanitation problems is enormous and to get rid of the country’s filth and insanitary conditions, the role of the private sector must always be recognized.
At the maiden sanitation stakeholder’s forum which was organized at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra, the private sector was identified as a key player for playing a massive role in improving sanitary conditions in the country.
The maiden sanitation dialogue was organised by the Environmental Services Providers Association (ESPA), Zoomlion Company Limited, the Fidelity Bank, the Graphic Communications Group Ltd (GCGL) and the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD).
The forum was attended by government agencies, donor agencies and other stakeholders in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) sector to dialogue on the role of the private sector in providing sustainable and practical solutions to the country’s sanitation challenges.
The aim of the conference was to stress on the need for greater partnership between government, international community and the private companies to work towards cleaning the filth in the country.
Minister of Local Government and Rural Development, Alhaji Collins Dauda, congratulated the private sector for being instrumental in increasing access to waste bins, waste recycling, composting, haulage of municipal waste and ensuring better management of final disposal sites and engineered landfills.
“Considering the fact that the government is constrained in terms of financial resources, the support of our DPs has gone a long way to improve the sanitation situation in the country. Indeed, if we are to forge ahead in improving insanitary conditions in Ghana, we must consider it as a shared responsibility,” the Collins Dauda said.
Mr David Duncan, Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at UNICEF and Leader of the development partners, said although substantial funds had been committed to the sanitation sector by The Netherlands (€100 million), Canada (over $100 million), the World Bank GAMA project (around $150 million), among other investments by other DPs, “it is not the money that really makes the difference”.
Chief Executive of the Zoomlion Company Mr Joseph Siaw-Agyepong bodly noted that at the end of January 2016, ‘Lavender Hill’ at Korle-Gono would be cleared.
The President of the Environmental Service Providers Association and Chief Executive of the Zoomlion Company identified lack of access to financing and non-enforcement of existing bye-laws, as well as policies on sanitation, as challenges facing the private waste management sector.
Source: Chris Joe Quaicoe/ email:[email protected]
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