Koforidua, Oct. 8, GNA- DANIDA has invested 49 billion cedis to support water and sanitation programmes in 11 districts of the Eastern Region under the first phase, which started 1999.
Under the first phase, which ends in December, this year, 521 water sources with 35 on-going, 144 institutional latrines with 93 ongoing and 2,723 household latrines has been provided in the districts. The Eastern Regional Director of the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA), Mr Philip Amanor disclosed this at a one-day Regional Steering Committee meeting of stakeholders in water and sanitation sectors at Koforidua on Wednesday.
The participants included the Municipal Chief Executive, District Chief Executives, District Co-ordinating Directors, DANIDA Advisors, and Regional Coordinating Council officials.
Mr Amanor said the second phase of the programme estimated at 55 million dollars begins in January next year, and ends in 2009. Eastern, Volta, Central and Greater Accra regions would benefit from the programme.
Mr Amanor said, the German Government through a German Funding Agency (KFW) is financing Birim North, Birim South, West Akim and Suhum/Kraboa/Coaltar in a programme dubbed, the "Rural Water Supply Project Phase 111"(RWSP111).
He said the drilling of 200 boreholes and the construction of 200 household latrines cost 10.560 billion cedis, adding that in addition, KFW in collaboration with the Government is financing the drilling of 29 residual boreholes in 28 communities through the Accompanying Measures Eastern Region (AMER) project at a cost of 1.460 billion cedis.
Mr Amanor said KFW is also collaborating with the Government to finance the Eastern/Volta Regions Assistance Project (EVORAP) to provide 13 small towns in the region with pipe borne water.
While commending some districts for exhausting their quotas for the implementation of the projects, he expressed concern about the lukewarm attitude of some District Assemblies, which deprived some of the people with the services being provided.
He stressed that under the second phase, the programmes would be district based and activities initiated and implemented by the District Assemblies with CWSA playing the role of facilitation, supervision and quality control.
In an address read for him, the Eastern Regional Minister, Dr Francis Osafo Mensah said the government would not shirk its responsibility to the people and hoped that donor support especially by DANIDA would be sustained to serve as a catalyst for the achievement of goals in the water and sanitation sector.
He hoped that with lessons learnt from the previous implementation programme, the stakeholders would be able to handle the challenges of the second phase.
The Regional Minister expressed gratitude to DANIDA for its support in the water and sanitation sector in the region.
