The
Greater
Accra
Metropolitan
and
Greater
Kumasi
Metropolitan
Assemblies
(GAMA/GKMA)
Sanitation
Project
provide
1,400
household
toilets
monthly
in
its
areas
of
operations,
specifically
Accra
and
Kumasi.
The
effort
is
towards
the
universal
access
to
sanitation
to
achieve
the
Sustainable
Development
Goal
Six
by
2030.
The
Coordinator
of
the
project,
George
Asiedu,
said
achieving
the
SDG
Six
was
possible
should
the
GAMA
and
GKMA
Sanitation
Project
continue
with
the
momentum.
He
urged
the
government
to
support
the
project,
which
is
under
the
Ministry
of
Sanitation
and
Water
Resources,
to
ensure
that,
“we
quickly
embark
on
the
programme
nationwide
to
achieve
universal
access
to
sanitation
as
a
country.”
Mr
Asiedu
was
speaking
to
the
Ghanaian
Times
at
the
sidelines
of
a
Professorial
Inaugural
Lecture
on
the
topic,
‘Universal
Access
to
Water
and
Sanitation
Services:
A
myth
or
Realty,’
at
the
Kwame
Nkrumah
University
of
Science
and
Technology.
According
to
Mr
Asiedu,
universal
access
to
sanitation
was
possible
through
the
Project
which
had
over
the
years
shown
that,
“it’s
possible
to
increase
access
to
sanitation
and
household
toilets.”
He
was
of
the
view
that
with
a
financing
support
from
the
government
over
the
next
six
years,
“we
would
be
able
to
do
that
as
a
country
for
everybody
to
realise
that
achieving
SDG
Six
is
not
a
myth
but
reality.”
Mr
Asiedu
also
made
a
passionate
appeal
to
the
government
to
provide
adequate
financing
to
support
their
vision
in
order
to
increase
access
to
sanitation
and
water
to
continue
at
the
pace
they
were
going.
He
further
mentioned
the
import
ant
role
the
Metropolitan,
Municipal
and
District
Assemblies
(MMDAs)
and
the
government
played
to
the
success
of
the
project,
and
urged
them
to
continue
the
prioritisation
of
sanitation
and
water
which
he
described
as
the
centre
of
the
growth
of
every
nation.
“If
we
do
not
focus
on
sanitation
and
water
as
a
country,
we
are
not
going
to
get
anywhere
which
will
negatively
affect
the
economy,
for
a
healthy
nation
is
a
healthy
people,
and
poor
sanitation
and
access
to
unwholesome
water
can
be
a
setback,”
he
noted.
It
is
recalled
that
the
Ministry
of
Sanitation
and
Water
Resources
in
November
19,
2021
launched
the
GKMA-SWP
project
as
part
of
the
government’s
determination
to
providing
pragmatic
measures
to
find
a
lasting
solution
to
the
water
and
sanitation
problems
in
the
country.
The
World
Bank
funded
project
is
expected
to
construct
30,000
household
toilet
facilities
in
the
GKMA
before
the
close
of
the
project
in
December
2024,
with
the
bio-digester
toilet
system
being
the
main
containment
technology.
It
is
an
extension
of
the
Greater
Accra
Sanitation
and
Water
Project
(GAMA-
SWP),
which
started
from
2015.
After
a
successful
project
implementation
at
the
end
of
2020,
the
Ministry
of
Sanitation
and
Water
Resources,
with
financing
and
technical
support
from
the
World
Bank,
agreed
to
extend
the
project
to
Greater
Kumasi
until
the
end
of
2024.
In
Kumasi,
the
project
is
being
implemented
in
eight
Metropolitan
and
Municipal
Assemblies
(MMAs)
–
Asokwa,
Oforikrom,
old
Tafo,
Suame,
Kwadaso,
Asokore
Mampong
Municipal
Assembly,
Kumasi
Metropolitan
Assembly
(KMA)
and
Ejisu
Municipality.
Earlier,
Professor
Kwabena
Biritwum
Nyarko
of
KNUST
revealed
research
conducted
showed
that
despite
the
significant
improvements
in
water
and
sanitation
coverage,
about
1.4
million
people
in
Ghana
still
relied
on
surface
water
sources
such
as
streams,
rivers,
dugouts,
lakes,
and
ponds.
He
added
that,
the
2020
Population
and
Housing
Census
also
indicated
12.5
million
people
in
Ghana
use
sachet
water
as
their
primary
source
of
drinking
water,
for
sanitation.
And
almost
8
million
people
in
Ghana
use
public
toilets,
and
11
million
people
share
toilets
with
neighbours.
BY
KINGSLEY
E.
HOPE,
KUMASI