Ghana committed to attain SDG Goal 6 by 2023 - Water and Sanitation Resources Minister

The Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Freda Prempeh has called on all Ghanaians to actively play their prescribed roles effectively in relation to sanitation and hygiene issues in order attain the Government’s vision of a clean Ghana.

She made the remarks when she launched World Cleanup Day which is celebrated on September 30, under the local Theme “Cleaning for Safe, Healthy and Sustainable Ghana” today at the Minister’s Press Briefing in Accra.

The activities for the celebration would include a massive clean-up activity across the length and breadth of Ghana, traditional and social media sensitisation campaigns, and intensive premises inspection by staff of the District Assemblies, among others.

The Minister emphasized that the importance of the World Cleanup Day in Ghana hinges on collaboration and partnerships and urged everyone to partake in the celebration.

“The Government and Non-State Actors, the Media as well as individuals are urged to come together to plan and execute cleanup activities across the country. We need to educate the youth who are the future leaders of this country with the view of instilling in them a sense of responsibility towards the environment, she said.”

Hon. Freda Prempeh reaffirmed the Ministry’s mandate which was to develop policies that would enhance the delivery of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) services in the country.

“The Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies are mandated to undertake the provision of water, sanitation and hygiene facilities and services and enforce the byelaws on sanitation within their jurisdiction.”

“Households, on the other part, are expected to make the waste available for collection and disposal and keep hygienic surroundings as well as pay the requisite fees for the services being provided by the MMDAs, she said”.

The World Clean Day Celebration commemorated on September 30 is a global movement that began in Estonia in 2008 and had grown exponentially, bringing together millions of people from every corner of the world.

It is a day when people come together to clean up their environment, raise awareness about the importance of responsible waste management and sustainable living.

Achievements

The Minister revealed that Ghana was the first country to sign the Sanitation and Water for All Compact and this made it possible to prioritize WASH services delivery through deliberate and focused committed programmes, with clearly defined plans for funding.

As a result of this, Ghana was able to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on Water, five clear years before the deadline.

To further consolidate the gains made, H.E the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo who is also a Co-Chair for the SDG Advocates Emeritus, set up a specific Ministry for Sanitation and Water Resources when he assumed office in 2017.

The main aim of this innovative idea was to prioritise the sector and make the necessary commitments to ensure the delivery of sustainable water and sanitation services towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially Goal 6 by 2030. Page 3 of 6 Government and Development Partners have, from 2017, invested heavily to expand water and sanitation services to benefit a lot of people.

The huge investment has increased the population with access to basic drinking water services from 79% in 2017/2018 to 87.7% in 2021, whiles population with access to exclusive household toilet facilities increased from 21% in 2017/2018 to 25.3% in 2021. In addition, the proportion of water bodies with good Ambient Water Quality increased from 51.5 in 2017 to 58.2 in 2021. Proportion of solid waste properly disposed of in five major towns/cities, increased from 70% in 2017 to 85% in 2021.

Vision For Wash

On water resources management, the Minister disclosed that her outfit would continue to ensure the effective management and utilisation of water resources.

She mentioned that additional monitoring stations would be established to monitor and track the quantity and quality of surface water resources, whiles groundwater mapping would be undertaken to fully determine the ground water resources potential of the country.

“In addition, buffer zone and other integrated water resources management strategies will be enhanced to ensure that the country’s water resources, will no longer be under threat of pollution, she stressed.”

On Sanitation, Hon. Freda Prempeh disclosed that on access to liquid waste management, the vision was to end open defecation through the construction of about 1.5 million household toilets.

This, she said would ensure that about 60% of the populace/households in urban/peri-urban and 50% of the populace/households in rural areas have access to exclusive households’ toilets and using at least basic sanitation and progressively moving towards safely managed services by 2030, whiles the remaining 40% of the populace/households in urban/peri-urban and 50% of the populace/households in rural areas will rely on improved shared toilet facilities.

She also stated that the vision for solid waste management was to minimize waste and maximize the value of resources by promoting the continuous use, recycling and regeneration of products and materials by ensuring that 95% of solid waste are collected and disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner and about 65% of all such waste is safely treated and reused within major towns/cities by 2030.

On Hygiene, the Minister reminded all that the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic re-echoed the need to expand the use of hand hygiene facilities beyond the home to other settings such as workplaces, markets, transport terminals, community centres and other public places.

She revealed that the vision of the Ministry was to have about 70% of the populace/households in urban/peri-urban and 50% of the populace/households in rural areas practicing safe handwashing.

Illegal Mining

The Minister expressed her worry on how the activities of Illegal mining had negatively affect not only the operations of water utility companies such as the Ghana Water Limited (GWL) but Ghana’s freshwater resources.

She disclosed that Aquatic life and fauna were being destroyed through these nefarious activities.

“The health of human beings, aquatic species and other animals that rely and survive on these water bodies is under threat as a result of the assimilation of heavy metals such as mercury and arsenic which have been deposited in these water bodies, she said.”

She revealed that her outfit was collaborating with the relevant stakeholders to mitigate these activities which are destroying Ghana’s water.