AMA trains staff on sustainable municipal sanitation planning

The Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA), under the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area Water and Sanitation Project (GAMA-SWP), has commenced a three-day training programme for its staff on sustainable municipal sanitation planning.

The broad objective of the training, which ends tomorrow, is to equip participants with necessary competences to analyse, design and operate simple yet reliable sustainable water supply and sanitation services that are compatible with local customs and available human and material resources.

Participants for the training programme were drawn from the waste management department, public and environmental health department, community development, planning unit, selected sub-committee members of the assembly and central administration who are involved directly or indirectly with the project in the area of sustainable sanitation planning and infrastructure design and implementation.

Delivering the open address, the waste management director of AMA, Anthony Mensah highlighted some successes gained under the GAMA-SWP, and re-echoed the importance of enhancing the capacity of staff to ensure the effective implementation of the project.

The GAMA-SWP coordinator of AMA, Graham Sarbah, urged the participants to effectively apply the skills and knowledge they acquire from such capacity-building programmes in their various localities.

The Government of Ghana, with its partners, has provided systematic interventions, including the design and implementation of the GAMA-SWP through the ministry of local government and rural development (MLGRD).

The project is intended to increase access to improved sanitation and improved water supply in the GAMA, with emphasis on low income communities.

The project is designed to benefit at least 250,000 people in low income in the 11 Metropolitan/Municipal Assemblies that make up the GAMA; namely, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Ga West Municipal Assembly, Ga East Municipal Assembly, Ga South Municipal Assembly, Adenta Municipal Assembly, Ashiaman Assembly, La Dade-Kotopon Municipal Assembly and La Nkwantanang Assembly.

The components of the project include the provision of environmental sanitation and water supply services; improvement and expansion of GAMA-wide environmental sanitation situation; as well as institutional strengthening and capacity building.

The facilitator for the training programme was Niewtree Inc. Limited.