Civil society must investigate huge payments to consultants

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Mr Ibrahim Musah presenting the evaluation report

Mr Ibrahim Musah, Head of Policy and Partnerships, WaterAid Ghana, a non-governmental organisation in water and sanitation, has urged civil society to investigate allegations of huge disbursements of funds meant for sanitation projects to consultants.

Lack of political will, cause of Ghana’s sanitation woes – WaterAid

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Dr Afia Zakiya, CR - WaterAid Ghana

WaterAid Ghana, an international non-governmental organisation, has blamed Ghana’s sanitation crisis on the lack of will and commitment on the part of the government to deal with issues in the sector.

Gender gaps in water, sanitation services

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Mrs Patience Agyare-Kwabi delivering the Gender Assessment report

An assessment of the delivery of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services in 16 districts in five regions of the country has revealed numerous gender gaps in the delivery of these services.

The assessment was carried out by the Government of Ghana and United Nations Children's Fund (GOG/UNICEF).

Beware! You may be eating more than food

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Mrs Theodora Adomako-Adjei, National Coordinator, GHD

While I was driving on one of the streets of Accra recently, a colleague drew my attention to a man who was busily washing his hands in water that had collected on the shoulders of the road as a result of a downpour the previous night.

Naturally we were all intrigued by the sight we beheld and starred earnestly to see what right-thinking person would be doing an act we viewed as very strange.

Newmont Ghana improves rating

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Newmont Ghana Gold Limited (NGGL), one of the world’s big mining companies operating in Ghana, has recorded an improvement in performance in the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) 2012 ‘Akoben’ ratings released last week Friday.

From an overall rating of ‘orange’ (satisfactory) gained in 2011, NGGL made a leap to ‘blue’ (good) in the latest trend analysis for the mining sector disclosed by the EPA.

CONIWAS, partners call for deeper collaboration of MMDAs to upscale sanitation

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

Mr Benjamin Arthur, CONIWAS Executive Secretary delivering the communique

Metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), play a very vital role in sanitation management in the country.

Their efforts in the collective management of liquid waste especially, but solid waste as well, seems to have slackened over the years.

Water and Sanitation for Africa to facilitate GLAAS process in Ghana, 19 countries

BY EDMUND SMITH-ASANTE

To assist facilitate the UN-Water Global Assessment and Analysis of Sanitation and Drinking Water (GLAAS) implementation and country level consultations in Africa, the World Health Organisation (WHO), is working closely with the Pan African Inter-governmental Agency, Water and Sanitation for Africa (WSA).

WSA will lead the country level process in Ghana and 19 other African countries where they have field staff, while WHO, would support the process through its own country offices in 10 more countries, to make the total 30.