Govt urged to invest more into sanitation

The government has been urged to invest more in waste management in the country.

According to some Members of Parliament, waste management was a major problem in Ghana currently because the government has not concentrated on financing that sector.

The Parliamentarians, who are members of the Local Government and Rural Development, Water Resources, Works and Housing and Science, Innovation and Environment committees in Parliament made the call after touring various areas in Ghana.

They visited Kumasi, Tamale, Takoradi and Accra and observed that the dumping of faecal waste in the open in some areas is still a problem.

In Tamale and Takoradi for instance, the committee observed that untreated faecal matter, for instance, are being used as manure in some farms, which to them is dangerous when such farm products are consumed.

This, to them, was an indication that the sanitation situation in Ghana has reached a crisis level.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues at a press briefing in Accra on Thursday after the tour, the Ranking Member for the Committee of Local Government and Rural Development, Nii Lantey Vanderpuye urged President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to pay urgent attention to the sanitation situation.

“And one of the recommendations I believe seriously has to do with financing. That is basically the problem. All these issues have to do with financing... how do we finance waste management in Ghana” he said.

He said the Speaker of Parliament was very concerned about the environment and as a result, they were going take advantage of that position to impress on the government to devote more resources to waste management.