Parliamentary committee seeks dedicated sanitation fund - It’s for reliable payment to service providers

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Sanitation and Water Resources has strongly recommended dedicated funding to address the country's ongoing sanitation challenges.

It will also ensure reliable payments to private sector service providers.

The Chairman of the committee, John Kwabena Oti Bless, emphasised that a permanent funding mechanism was essential because “waste generation is a daily problem.” 

He added that with a dedicated funding source, the government would be able to pay service providers in the sanitation sector promptly, including clearing its outstanding debts to Zoomlion Ghana Ltd.

Mr Oti Bless made the comments after leading a tour of Zoomlion’s waste treatment facilities in Tamale, including the Integrated Recycling and Compost Plant (IRECOP), the Wastewater Treatment Plant and Medical Waste Services Limited, all located on the same premises at Gbalahi last Wednesday.

Funding sanitation

“Across the world, there is always a funding mechanism for sanitation. Without funding, how do you pay service providers?” he said rhetorically.

A section of the plant

“That is the challenge we face as a country, and all stakeholders, including the media, must work together on this,” Mr Oti Bless added.

He praised Zoomlion's operations in the Northern Region, stating that the sanitation situation would have been worse without the company’s facilities and men.

Against this background, the Select Committee Chairman urged the government to provide incentives for Ghanaian businesses that invested in impactful environmental projects, noting that the government could not handle the challenges alone.

“It’s a very important facility. We’ve learned they are now in talks with Jospong to set up a similar facility in Burkina Faso.

That shows how crucial this is,” Mr Oti Bless said, referencing a recent visit by a Burkinabé delegation to a Zoomlion plant in Kumasi.

Private sector

He reiterated that sanitation was primarily private-sector driven and called for stronger collaboration between the government and companies.

Mr Oti Bless also highlighted the need for an attitudinal shift, urging citizens to stop indiscriminate dumping and use the waste bins that are provided.

The delegation included Ranking Member, Kofi Ahenkorah Marfo, and members Bismark Nyarko Tetteh, Joseph Azumah and Fatahiya Abdul Aziz.