By Edward Dankwah
Accra, Mar. 11, GNA – Mr. Ahmed Ibrahim, the Minister of Local Government, Chieftaincy and Religious Affairs (MLGCRA), has disclosed that the Government of Ghana through the MLGCRA has slated April 1, to reintroduce the National Sanitation Day and National Sanitation League.
He said the Government was undertaking this initiative because the President had committed to allocating approximately 80 per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) to the district structures.
“So, the Government has established a National Sanitation Taskforce to reintroduce the National Sanitation Day and implement it nationwide, extending from the national level to regional and district assemblies.,” he added.
The Minister said the task force would also be responsible for advocacy, procurement of sanitation tools, logistics, and the overall equipping and establishment of the task force to ensure effective implementation of the initiative.
Mr. Ibrahim disclosed this during a courtesy call paid by the Ghana Coalition for NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) to the MLGCRA in Accra, to discuss major ways in keeping the country safe and clean.
The Minister said consequently, it was essential to grant the assemblies more authority, as providing resources without ensuring accountability and democratic dividends would not yield the desired outcomes.
He said beyond that, the Government would also embark on a National Sanitation League, where districts that underperformed in sanitation would face consequences, and that both technical and political measures would be applied to hold the district authorities accountable.
“Technical, because we have the district coordinating director who is the technical head and political because the District Chief Executive is the political head”
“I don’t think that if I’m not able to introduce it and make sure Accra is clean, the President will allow me to be here so in the same way, I must extend the same supervisory role across the regions to the district level,” the Minister added.
Mr. Ibrahim said the churches, chiefs, DCEs, and assembly members were now actively involved with the ministry, hence with all three key pillars of development engaged, they were confident that they could work together to make Ghana the cleanest country.
He said there would be a standard and a practical checklist based on which assessments would be given.
Madam Basila Nanbigne, Executive Secretary, CONIWAS, said the goal of the Sanitation Day was to maintain a clean environment, promote hygiene, and enhance the well-being of Ghanaians.
She said as highlighted by the Sustainable Development Goals, Ghana had made progress in water access, with approximately 87 per cent coverage, however, in terms of sanitation, Ghana was still lagging, with coverage remaining at only 25 per cent.
The Executive Secretary said the high-level compact was to elevate sanitation and water to the highest priority, ensuring that sanitation received greater emphasis in terms of financing.
“Even when budgets are allocated, the releases are often insufficient, and implementation remains low. For instance, if the budget is set at 5.00, releases may only amount to 3.00, with actual expenditure reaching just 1.50”
“This has contributed to our continued lag in progress, which is why we are focused on prioritising financing.
Madam Nanbigne said if adequate releases were received, they would implement effective monitoring systems to ensure that sanitation services were genuinely improved.
She added that this would ensure that funds were properly allocated to sanitation, leading to better access and enhanced services.
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