Sanitation Ministry, MMDAs sign MoU to improve livelihoods

The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region for the implementation of the Greater Accra Sustainable Sanitation and Livelihoods Improvement Project (GASSLIP).

The project, estimated at $53.86 million, is aimed at increasing access to safe and sustainable sanitation facilities to residents, particularly the poor in urban and peri-urban communities.

The Chief Director of the ministry, Mr Noah Tumfo, signed on behalf of his outfit, while the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Adentan, , Nii Noi Adumuah, signed on behalf of the MMDAs.

The agreement was signed at a day’s orientation workshop in Accra to sensitise the metropolitan, municipal and district chief executives MMDCEs to the project.

The GASSLIP, which was launched on October 11, 2018, forms part of interventions adopted by the government to ensure a clean Ghana.

Significance

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ms Cecilia Abena Dapaah, explained that the workshop was to educate the MMDCEs on their responsibilities to enable them to offer the requisite political and administrative leadership in the implementation of the project.

“This project will provide domestic and municipal-level sanitation infrastructure, support skills development and livelihood improvement and enhance the capacity of sanitation service providers and the participating local government authorities to better deliver and manage climate-resilient sanitation services,” she said.

She said out of the estimated cost of the project, the African Development Bank’s contribution was US$48.85m, while the remaining US$5.01 million was from the government of Ghana and beneficiary contributions.

“It is estimated that the project will directly benefit 1.9 million residents of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA), while the conditions of about 1.8 million people will be improved, which could lead to the realisation of Sustainable Development Goal 6 in particular,” she added.

She asked the MMDCEs to ensure the proper cleaning of their respective communities and also sensitise the people to their responsibilities by “mounting speakers on vans and pick-ups to educate the public on general cleanliness”.

“We cannot and dare not fail President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in his vision of making Accra the cleanest city in Africa, a bold and positive declaration indeed,” Ms Dapaah added.

Advice

The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Mr Ishmael Ashitey, urged MMDCEs to familiarise themselves with their roles and responsibilities, as specified in the document, to avoid delays in the execution of the project.

“I wish to assure the minister and her team that we are ever ready, as a coordinating body, to assume our role in ensuring the success of this project,” he said.