My Ghana Electronic Desk

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE WaterAid Ghana (WAG), a non-governmental organisation with years of experience in Ghana’s water and sanitation sector, in collaboration with its partners, has held its Annual Review Workshop in the Brong Ahafo Regional capital of Sunyani. The two-day workshop attracted over 40 participants from some District Assemblies including the DCEs of Akuapem North and Krachi East districts, Community, Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) and Water Directorate of the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing. Other participants were from WaterAid Ghana (WAG), NGO partners such as ProNet – North, ProNet – Accra, Akuapem Community Development Project (ACDEP), Afram Plains Development Organisation (APDO), New Energy and Civil Service Organisation (CSO) networks such as the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CO...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE A programme officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, Mr. Kweku Quansah, has disclosed that Ghana requires about $1.5 billion within the next five years at the peak of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) target, in order to attain the MDG in Sanitation. He said this means that annually the country will need a capital investment of about $300 million to be able to attain the sanitation MDG target. Mr. Quansah, who disclosed this in an interview with this reporter in Sunyani Tuesday, said the political authorities, donors and households are ready to invest this much to push the sanitation coverage up, “because in the whole of West Africa we are last but one and it doesn’t auger well because Ghana has done well in so many areas but unfortunately in sanitation we are lagging behind and there is the need to double up ourselves and ensure that we achieve the MDG target.” He how...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The Executive arm of the Government of Ghana, Cabinet, last week Thursday approved the 2007 revised National Environment and Sanitation Policy for the Water and Sanitation Sector of the country. The policy, which came into force in 1999, was operational until 2006 when the need to review it arose. However, the improved document needed Cabinet’s approval before it could become operational. Disclosing this at an Annual Review Workshop of WaterAid Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation and partner organisations, Mr. Kweku Quansah, a programme officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD) of the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), said the approval was indeed good news for all in the water and sanitation sector. He explained that the approval is “good news for all sector players because every agency is supposed to work with a policy and alongside with policy, you will be able to make your issues clear.”...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE The Acting Country Director of WaterAid Ghana, Mrs. Angela Peasah, has stated that she views the commemoration of World Water Day (WWD) as an opportunity for a rally call for people to lift the profile on sanitation and water issues and focus more attention on them. She said that this year’s celebration is very significant because it precedes the first ever High Level Meeting of ministers in Washington next month to present a plan on how to meet the MDG target 7 which touches on water and sanitation. Speaking in an exclusive interview with this reporter at the commemoration of the day with over 2000 school children in Ashaiman near Tema on Monday, Mrs. Peasah said “It is more of a public awareness raising and to put pressure on Government to make sure that they look at issues around the sector holistically.” Commenting on how well Ghana is doing in the water and sanitation sector, she said unfortunately, most of the funding for the sector currently comes from de...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Two thousand and fifteen (2015) pupils from 20 schools in the Ashaiman Municipality in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, marked World Water Day on Monday March 22, with a long winding queue to drum home the lack of sanitation facilities in their schools. With coloured plastic cups in their left hands and in the winding queue, the over two thousand school children shouted at the top of their voices for several times “ We want water, we want toilets” to demand from the relevant authorities their right to clean hygienic water and basic sanitation facilities. Organised by the End Water Poverty (EWP) Ghana Coalition in collaboration with the Church of Christ Rural Water Development Project (COCRWDP), the event, which was sponsored by WaterAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, was replicated across the length and breadth of Ghana. Areas outside Ashaiman where similar queues were formed included Zagyuri and Zujung in the Northern Region, where they were organi...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Like the name of the dead or a very powerful and dreaded deity, it is not mentioned often, and even when it is, certainly not in public. Just the mention of toilets brings a grimace to the face of many and a disapproving look of disgust. It is also considered uncultured for anyone to blurt it out without using appropriate synonyms or universally accepted coinage, either to disguise the word, or tone down its impact on hearers. However, even though it is especially considered a taboo in Ghana for the word toilet to be mentioned during meals, it is an undisputable fact that it is a basic need of every living being and no human can continue to live without being able to use the toilet after eating. Imagine eating all the good food one can think of, without being able to ease one’s self. But that is the reality of the situation in Ghana and some parts of the world, where many do not have access to sanitation facilities such as toilets to empty their bowels after th...

EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE Badukrom is a small village in the tropical rain forest of the Western Region of Ghana, close to the popular mining town of Tarkwa. One of its major challenges is that it has only one borehole serving the entire community numbering a few hundreds and when it breaks down those fortunate to have dug wells would depend on them for their water needs until the pump is serviced. In the event that the well runs dry whilst the pump has not been serviced, the members of the community would have no choice than to rely on any water they can lay hands on. The people of Badukrom, despite the tricky situation they find themselves in, may be considered lucky in that they at least for most part of the year are able to draw water from a functioning borehole pump. Although water is an essential commodity, without which there will be no life on earth, many communities, both in Ghana and worldwide go through struggles each day, just to access their daily needs. This commodity whi...

The ECOWAS Specialised Ministerial Technical Committee on Agriculture, Environment and Water Resources on Thursday, 18th March 2010 in Accra after a day-long meeting adopted the “Framework of Strategic Guidelines on the Reduction of Vulnerability and Adaptability to Climate Change in West Africa”. Announcing this, a press release form the ECOWAS Commission said the document, which sets the tone for the development and building of capacities for the region on resilience and adaptation to climate change and severe climate conditions, had earlier been validated by some 50 experts from Member States as well as non-governmental organisations, inter-governmental organisations and representatives of technical and financial partners of ECOWAS. The statement said the Ministers, whose report will be presented to the next meeting of the ECOWAS Council of Ministers, also agreed on the three specific objectives of the action plan which includes ensuring scientific and technical capacity buildin...