Ghana launches framework to track progress of environmental sanitation services
Mr Samuel Ofosu Ampofo, Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), on Thursday said the Ministry was making efforts to achieve the sanitation Millennium Development Goal (MDG) target of 54 per cent by 2015.
He said the current access to improved sanitation stood at 14 percent, which did not measure up to Ghana’s standard as a lower middle income country.
Mr Ampofo, who was launching a Result-Based Monitoring and Evaluation (R-B M&E) Framework for the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate of the MLGRD in Accra, said that seemed a herculean task but with commitment and tenacity of purpose they could achieve the target.
The R-B M&E Framework was to assist the Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate to monitor, track progress and performance assessment of environmental sanitation services delivery in the country.
The project was sponsored by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands.
The Minister said even though a lot had been achieved as a country the major challenge had been the absence of an effective monitoring and evaluation system to track the progress at the various levels of implementation.
“The absence of an effective monitoring and evaluation system has been the bane of the current sanitation dilemma and the launch… in my view it is not only appropriate but timely and relevant,” he said.
Mr Ampofo said the Ministry was mindful of challenges usually associated with those frameworks, which was getting them implemented and had therefore taken the needed measures to address them.
That, he said, included preparing a Strategic Sanitation Investment Plan (SESIP), which was currently before Cabinet, securing financial clearance to engage all qualified graduates of the School of Hygiene, recruitment of high caliber professionals for the sector.
“The Ministry is also providing the needed logistics such as transport and computers to the environmental health departments of the Regional Coordinating Councils and the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies,” he added.
He commended the Embassy of the Kingdom of Netherlands for supporting the project and also funding a 180 million-Euro project in urban water, sanitation and hygiene in Central and Greater Accra regions this year.
The Minister later handed over four Nissan 4WDs, 200 Motorcycles, and 17 Computers to Naa Demedeme Lenason, Acting Director of Environmental Health and Sanitation Directorate to facilitate their work.
He said the Ministry had done its part and would continue to play its expected role and what remained was for the MMDAs and other stakeholders to complement the efforts for the sector to make progress since environmental sanitation was a collective responsibility.
Naa Demedeme was grateful to the Ministry for the logistics and assured the Minister that they would be used for the intended purpose to assist in the collective efforts to achieve the sanitation MDGs by 2015.
Source: GNA