Madam Seyram Alhassan, a representative of the President at the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, has presented waste management equipment to Metropolitan and Municipal Assemblies (MMAs) in Accra.
The MMAs under the Greater Accra Sustainable Sanitation and Livelihoods Improvement Project (GASSLIP) received 205 small powered tricycles, 50 Skips (communal containers), and 25 Skip Loaders (Skip Trucks), at the cost of US$7.1 million.
Three Toyota mini buses, which coandUS$225,000 were also donated to three schools of hygiene to support field activities of students and staff.
Madam Alhassan said the presentation had demonstrated yet another commitment of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s Government to enhance the capacity of the assemblies to improve the delivery of sanitation services at the metropolitan and municipal levels.
‘In the past week when the rains have intensified, we have all witnessed the effects of dumping of solid waste in our drains with the attendant flooding in most area. We
are failing in our duties if we do not take the necessary steps to stem the tide of the effects of indiscriminate dumping of waste,’ she stated.
She expressed the hope that when the items were utilized fully about 1,215 cubic metres of solid waste (about 700 tons) per day would be collected and disposed of and this would significantly improve the rate of collection of waste in the city of Accra and its environs.
Madam Alhassan noted that the GASSLIP is committed to increasing access to improved sustainable and climate resilient sanitation and hygiene with improved livelihoods for the low-income urban and peri-urban residents within the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA).
‘With an African Development Bank (AfDB) loan of US$48.85 million and a Government of Ghana in-kind contribution of US$5.01 million, the Project has delivered a number of facilities, including 5,174 Household Toilets within the GAMA, completed the construction of 30 out of 60 units of Institutional WASH facilities in basic and secondar
y schools, and equipment to schools of hygiene in Accra, Ho and Tamale,’ he stated.
She expressed gratitude to the AfDB for its continuous support to the developmental programmes of the Government and the people as it considered water and sanitation as one of the priority areas.
‘We need to do more in the water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) sector and I urge all the MMAs to remain committed to the course of ensuring that Accra becomes the cleanest city.’
Madam Alhassan urged the authorities of the beneficiary schools of hygiene to maintain and manage the vehicles properly to improve teaching and learning.
Mr Daniel Nii Kwartei Titus Glover, a representative of the President at the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council, who received the items, urged the beneficiary institutions to take good care of the logistics to prolong their life-span.
Source: Ghana News Agency