Govt does not care enough about sanitation

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Mr David Duncan

There has been no improvement in sanitation coverage in the country for three years because neither the government nor the public has given priority to issues of sanitation in the country, the Chief of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) at UNICEF, Mr David Duncan, has stated.

Think creatively about water, sanitation provision - water utilities in Africa urged

By Edmund Smith-Asante, NAIROBI

Mr Evans Ondieki, an Executive Committee Member of the Nairobi City County making his presentation. To his left is  Mr Philip Gichuki, Managing Director of the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company.

Members of the Science and Technical Council (STC) of the African Water Association (AfWA), have been urged to see beyond policies and laws governing the provision of water and sanitation services, to more innovative ways of ensuring access.

SMARTerWASH project enhances rural water provision

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Eumerators taking data on a dis-functional water system.

Rural water provision in Ghana has received a major boost through the introduction of the use of the smartphone to collect data on the performance of all water facilities provided for communities, irrespective of who provided them.

7th WACDEP Technical Coordination Meeting opens in Accra

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

 

Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Dr Agyemang-Mensah (r) in a chat with Executive Secretary of GWP, Mr Rudolf Cleveringa. PICTURE BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

The seventh technical coordination meeting of the Water, Climate and Development Programme (WACDEP) opened yesterday with a call on participants to share ideas, experiences and suggestions that would lead to the reduction of the impacts of climate change on the West African sub-region.

Provision of boreholes enhances academic performance at Sirigu High School

By Edmund Smith-Asante, SIRIGU

A classroom block at the Sirigu Senior High School

The drilling of three boreholes in the Sirigu Senior High School in the Upper East Region has brought a lot of changes in the lives of the students, staff and the academic performance of the school, Mr Thomas Awiah, the headmaster, has stated.

Deliver on new global water, sanitation goals — WaterAid urges UN members

By Edmund Smith-Asante

International development organisation, WaterAid, has urged member countries of the United Nations (UN), to ensure that they deliver on the new global goals, the sustainable development goals (SDGs), especially goal six and leave no one behind.

CLTS neglecting engineering expertise

By Edmund Smith-Asante, SAVELUGU

Mr Bansaga Saga taking journalists through the different latrine models.

Engineering expertise has been overlooked in the Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS) approach adopted by the government to improve rural sanitation coverage, the Project Manager of World Vision’s Ghana Integrated Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (GI-WASH) programme, Mr Bansaga Saga, has stated.

Ghana, Togo to build dam on River Oti

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

 

River Oti

Consultations have begun between Ghana and Togo for the construction of a dam on River Oti for the benefit of both countries.

Zoomlion supports Armed Forces children in clean up

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Zoomlion workers and the children desilting a gutter.

A waste management company, Zoomlion Ghana Limited, has assisted the Armed Forces Children’s Association [AFCA] Ghana in cleaning the El-Wak Sports Stadium in Accra and its surroundings.

Achieving African Water Vision 2026: Five bodies sign agreement with African Union

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Ms Bethlehem Mengistu, WaterAid [left] and Ms Tumusiime Rhoda Peace, AU signed for their organisations.

Five international development agencies have signed an agreement with the African Union (AU) that would enable them play a greater role in working towards the ambitious targets set by African Water Vision 2026.

Building an all-encompassing sanitation empire

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

The Zoompak waste transfer station

Until Zoomlion came on the scene in 2006, waste management services and those who engaged in it were regarded with  scorn as if they were engaged in contagious activity.

Vital Signs monitoring takes root in Ghana -To bridge gap between agriculture and the environment

By Edmund Smith-Asante

Vital Signs was launched in Africa in 2012

A method to monitor agriculture, nature and human well-being to ensure food security, known as the Vital Signs Monitoring System, has been introduced in the country.

Environmental cleanliness taken to corporate clients

By Edmund Smith-Asante

ZDL staff at work around the Hajj Village

To inculcate in corporate Ghana the need to always keep their surroundings clean, Zoomlion Domestic Ltd (ZDL), a subsidiary company of the Zoomlion Group of Companies, last Saturday began a clean-up of the environs of their big corporate clients numbering about 700.

Service personnel begin new sanitation module

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Some National Service personnel at the launch

Two thousand National Service persons have been assigned to metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies across the country in a newly introduced Urban Sanitation Module.

The power of handwashing in keeping sanitation-related diseases at bay

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

It comes naturally and it is almost involuntary for a person to wash his or her hands before touching food or after soiling or dirtying the hands.

Govt bemoans non-compliance with sanitation guidelines

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Washing of hands under running water is promoted under CLTS

It has emerged that one of the major factors preventing the government from rolling out its plans to ensure proper sanitation in the country is the non-adherence of many of its partners to the subscribed guidelines developed by the government.

Global Panel on Agriculture to hold 1st Africa meeting in Accra

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Prof Sandy Thomas

Accra has been selected as the venue for the third meeting of the Global Panel on Agriculture and Food Systems for Nutrition, but the first to be held in Africa, from November 16 to November 18 this year.

Fuel stations can be sited anywhere but standards must be met — Ayariga

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Fuel stations can be sited anywhere, provided they have been put up according to the safety measures prescribed by the regulatory agencies, the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, Mr Mahama Ayariga, has stated.

Ghana experiencing ‘sanitation insanity’ — Mrs Boamah

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Mrs. Sheila Naah Boamah

Ghana's current sanitation situation can be described as a situation of sanitation insanity which must be tackled collectively with a sense of urgency, the Chief Executive and Board Secretary of the Students Loan Trust Fund (SLTF), Mrs Sheila Naah Boamah, has stated.

Sanitation workers undergo medical screening

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Dental examination at the screening

Sanitation workers in and around James Town, Chorkor and Kaneshie, all in Accra, last Saturday went through medical screening for the early detection and prevention of diseases that are associated with their work.

African govts pledge to stop open defecation by 2030; Endorse Ngor Declaration

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Caught engaging in open defaecation on a beach

African governments have made a 10-point commitment to ensure improvement in sanitation and hygiene on the continent and also endorsed a declaration to follow them through.

I am dredging Odaw drain for free - Ibrahim Mahama

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

 

Excavators dredging the Odaw river.

The Chief Executive of Engineers and Planners Company Limited, Mr Ibrahim Mahama, has refuted allegations that his company had been awarded a contract to dredge the Odaw River in Accra and stated that the company was rather providing its services for free and that he was not expecting any reward for the work.

Researchers call for inclusion in search for solutions to problems

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

A borehole fixed with a hand pump

Research scientists at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have decried their non-inclusion in the search for solutions to national challenges.

Ghana world’s 7th dirtiest country

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

 

Open defaecation on a Ghanaian beach

Ghana has slipped further on its sanitation performance globally to become the world’s 7th worst performing country, according to a new report released last Tuesday.

Accra Metropolitan Assembly creates buffer zone along Odaw drain creates buffer zone along Odaw drain

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

On-going dredging of Odaw drain

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) has created a buffer along the major Odaw drain that runs through Accra, while dredging is ongoing to ensure the free flow of water in the drain along its entire stretch at all times.

‘Lavender Hill’ to give way to modern waste treatment site

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Cesspit Emptiers at the Lavender Hill

Plans are far advanced to close down Accra’s famed liquid waste disposal site at Korle Gonno, notoriously known as ‘Lavender Hill’, because of the stench associated with it.

Controlled dumping of refuse at Abokobi landfill site

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Workers of Waste Landfills fumigating the dumpsite

Controlled dumping of waste is ongoing at the Abokobi landfill site due to the absence of alternative dumpsites in the Ga East Municipality, Mr John Kwao Sackey, the Municipal Chief Executive, has stated.

Chorkor beach turned dumping ground for refuse, human excreta

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Filth along the Chorkor beach

Chorkor, a fishing community in Accra, is an ugly scene of heaps of refuse and human excreta wrapped in black plastic bags and scattered around, which emit foul smell.

Govt puts in measures to contain cholera

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Faecal waste pouring directly into the sea at Lavender Hill

 The government has put in place measures to stop this year’s cholera outbreak from escalating into an epidemic, Mr Kweku Quansah, a Programme Officer of the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate (EHSD), has said.

Let’s redefine the concept of waste — Dr Yirenya-Tawiah

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

A lecturer at the Institute of Environment and Sanitation Studies, University of Ghana, Legon, Dr Dzidzo Yirenya-Tawiah, has called for a redefinition of what is classified as waste in the country.

Berekuso gets potable water

By Edmund Smith-Asante, BEREKUSO

Mr Sampson Ahi applauds the Berekuso chief as he cuts the ribbon to commission the water system

A small town water supply system has been inaugurated for the people of Berekuso in the Akwapim South District in the Eastern Region.

7 Countries train in sanitation advocacy

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Some of the participants at the Sanitation Advocacy Workshop

Experts from seven West African countries are meeting in Accra to discuss the problems of sanitation advocacy in the region and learn how best to use advocacy to influence better investment in sanitation.  

We have no research on our shelves – CSIR

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

 The Director-General of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Dr Victor Agyeman, has spoken against the notion that many of the country’s research findings are gathering dust on shelves.

Aquaculture polluting water sources

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Fish farming as practised in the country’s water bodies is causing major pollution and threatening the quality of drinking water, the Principal Basin Officer of the Densu Basin, Mr Ronald Abrahams, has stated.

Weija Lake area to get military base

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Plans are advanced for the establishment of a military base near the Weija Lake to prevent further pollution of one of Accra’s major water sources.

Ghana to achieve water for all by 2025

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Mr Charles Nimako, Safe Water Network Country Director addressing the forum

The Deputy Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Mr Sampson Ahi, has stated that there are plans to enable every Ghanaian have access to potable water by the year 2025.

Ghana to experience water scarcity by 2025

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

The Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) has warned that the country would have severe shortages of water in a decade if immediate steps were not taken to check pollution of its water resources.

Budget allocation for water, sanitation inadequate

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Mr Benjamin Arthur

The Executive Secretary of the Coalition of Non-Governmental Organisations in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), Mr Benjamin Arthur, has told journalists at a media engagement last Thursday that the total budgetary allocation of GH¢294.43 million for agencies and departments in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector was woefully inadequate.

Contaminated water kills 10,000 annually

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Only10 per cent of urban and rural dwellers in Ghana treat their water before drinking, a household water treatment and safe storage (HWTS) assessment conducted by UNICEF has established.

Experts recommend actions for fertiliser, soil fertility challenges

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

The experts at the workshop with Shashidhara Kolavalli doing a presentation

 A team of agricultural scientists and stakeholders who met in Accra last Monday, has offered recommendations to aid the government and the country to overcome its fertiliser subsidies and soil fertility challenges.

Govt invests GH¢17 million in borehole project

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

Twenty thousand of these would be provided

The government of Ghana is currently funding  20,000 borehole water supply projects with GH¢17 million from the Consolidated Fund over a five-year period, the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Alhaji Collins Dauda, has said.

Project to transform waste management systems takes off

By Edmund Smith-Asante, ACCRA

The Legon, Accra Waste Treatment Plant

A project to transform waste treatment systems in the country into self-supporting production facilities has taken off.