Osrogba, where it is a taboo to lease land for a latrine

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Proud owner of a latrine for the first time in her life

At Osrogba very close to Dodowa (40km from Accra) in the Shai Osudoku district of Ghana’s Greater Accra Region, one thing is obvious – no landowner or landlord is ready to release land for the construction of a latrine, a facility which is taken for granted by many.

This is because it is considered a taboo, a repulsion and disincentive to sell or lease their land for such purpose - which situation has largely contributed to open defecation by the 270-member community for many years.

Conference asks Ghana Gov’t for transparency, accountability in sanitation delivery

A Cross Section of Mole XXIV Participants

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Experts attending the just-ended annual water, sanitation and hygiene conference in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, dubbed Mole Conference XXIV, have tasked the Ghanaian Government to, through the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development, improve transparency and accountability in sanitation and waste  management.

In a 12-point communique issued at the end of the three-day conference held on the theme: “Building Effective Partnership for Scaling-Up Sustainable Sanitation Services in Ghana”, the over 100 participants also charged organisers of the conference - the Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS) and other Civil Society Organizations, to, in collaboration with government, establish and monitor sanitation sub-sector specific transparency and accountability standards.

Africa establishes Sanitation Think Tank to bridge policy, practice gap

FROM EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE, FUMESUA, ASHANTI REGION

Patrick Apoya, Director of Think Tank

Although several sanitation technologies and financing options are available to Africa, credible business models to take advantage of these are non-existent.

Further, even though demand-led approach to sanitation looks very promising, it is plagued by limitations and lack of knowledge in terms of context, scale and sustainability, while too little attention has been given to on-site sanitation, despite the fact that about 80 per cent of Africa’s population relies on this.

These and more, have led to the formation of the first ever Think Tank for Sanitation in Africa, which is an initiative of Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA), a Pan-African Inter-Governmental organisation consisting of 32 governments.

P.V. Obeng opens Mole XXIV Conference

FROM EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE, FUMESUA, ASHANTI REGION

P.V. Obeng delivering the keynote address

The Senior Presidential Advisor, Paul Victor Obeng, yesterday, August 14, 2013 opened Ghana’s longest running water, sanitation and hygiene conference at Fumesua, near Kumasi in the Ashanti Region, with a call on the about 140 participants to focus on building new coalitions of those who are willing to change the country’s fortunes.

To him, such action will enable appreciation of Ghana’s limitations, codify the country’s sanitation challenges and apply appropriate technologies to improve access to sanitation services.

Ghana loses US$ 70m in petroleum income tax in two years

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Ghana has within the spate of two years lost about US$ 70 million that could have accrued to the country, in view of the failure to amend or harmonise its petroleum income tax law (PITL), the Civil Society Platform on Oil and Gas, an amalgamation of NGOs in oil and gas has stated.

According to the platform, the lack of action on a planned amendment or harmonisation of the Petroleum Income Tax Law with the general income tax provisions is costing Ghana millions of dollars in potential tax revenue, even as the government explores innovative ways of raising badly needed financial resources to finance its 2013 budget.

Ghana’s sanitation problem can only be tackled through close collaboration - CONIWAS

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Dignitaries at the opening of last year's conference in Tamale

The Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), has stressed that while Ghana’s sanitation problem is huge, it can only be tackled with close collaboration among all national stakeholders.

In a statement released this week to announce Mole XXIV, this year’s edition of annual conferences held on water, sanitation and hygiene since 1989, the Coalition stated: “Clearly, the problem of sanitation is huge, and can only be tackled head-on with close collaboration and effective partnership backed by effective resource deployment by community members, traditional authority, local government authority, national government, private sector and development partners.”

WaterAid to use Toilet Day to highlight Ghana’s sanitation problem

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Shared latrines are a common feature in many Ghanaian households

WaterAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation, has hailed the declaration by the United Nations of November 19 as World Toilet Day, saying it will use commemoration of the day to draw the attention of Government to the gravity of the sanitation problem.

“We’ll certainly be working with private sector, civil society organisations, academia and others to use World Toilet Day to draw attention to governments of the enormous scale of the problem,” Dr. Afia S. Zakiya, WaterAid Ghana’s Country Representative stated in a statement copied to the press.

She pledged that “WaterAid Ghana will continue to work with national government ministries and local government authorities in Ghana to find sustainable solutions to ameliorate Ghana’s sanitation challenges, with an abysmal 15% coverage at the end of 2011.”

Ghana’s sanitation, water experts meet in Kumasi for 24th Mole Conference

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Participants at last year's conference

More than 100 experts and major players in Ghana’s water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector are set to meet in Kumasi for the 24^th in a series of annual dialogues on Ghana’s WASH sector known as the Mole Conference http://www.coniwas.org/, from Tuesday, August 13 to Friday, August 16, 2013.

The Mole conference series, which has fast established itself as the number one multi stakeholder conference on water, sanitation and hygiene in Ghana, will this year be on the theme: ''Building Effective Partnership for Scaling-Up Sustainable Sanitation Services in Ghana".

Ghana begins field trials for GM cotton and rice

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

GM rice undergoing a confined field trial at Fumesua

Ghana has received a major boost in food and crop production and sufficiency, with the start of limited field trials for genetically modified cotton and rice crops in selected areas of the country.

This follows approval received from Ghana’s National Biosafety Committee (NBC) to conduct such tests, following promulgation of the country’s Biosafety Act, 2011 (Act 831) and successful research conducted by the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) -Savanna Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), Nyankpala, Tamale.