Gov’t asked to operationalize strategic plan on sanitation investment
The Ghana Coalition of NGOs in Water and Sanitation (CONIWAS), has called on Government to partner academia, development partners and private sector to operationalize the Strategic Environmental Sanitation Investment Plan (SESIP) and to scale-up successful pilots on sanitation
CONIWAS and other civil society organizations in collaboration with government have proposed to establish and monitor sanitation sub-sector specific transparency and accountability standards.
The demands were contained in a communiqué issued by the group at a media conference in Accra to brief journalists on the outcome of the 24th Mole Conference held in Kumasi on the theme: “Building Effective Partnership for Scaling-Up Sustainable Sanitation Services in Ghana”.
The meeting discussed the role of Municipal Metropolitan and District Assemblies in sanitation service delivery and community’s perspective in solving sanitation challenges among others.
Mr Ben Arthur, Executive Secretary of CONIWAS, said the meeting also called on government through the Ministry of Local Government to improve transparency and accountability in sanitation and waste management.
He said the meeting urged civil society organisations to collaborate with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD) to ensure full-scale implementation of Polluter Pays Principle on sanitation through legislation.
In addition, he said, there was also the need for MMDAs to strictly enforce legislations, regulations and bye-laws on environmental sanitation while CSOs continue policy dialogues with stakeholders on effective implementation of bye-laws.
Mr Arthur said MMDAs should collaborate with private sector agencies, rural banks and micro-finance institutions to support credit for household latrines.
The Ministry of Local Government and MMDAs, he noted, should also collaborate with the private sector to promote and create value addition to sanitation and solid waste management to create employment.
The MMDAs, he said, should harness the influencing role of chiefs, queen mothers, community leaders and traditional authorities for effective, intensive community level education, sensitization and management of sanitation delivery.
The CSOs, NGOs, Mr Arthur said, should collaborate with MMDAs to intensify the implementation of comprehensive behavior change communication action plans to improve behaviors and attitudes of individuals and communities
He suggested conference participants to call on the Ministry of Local Government to utilize the platform of the Inter Ministerial Coordinating Committee (IMCC) to address weak collaboration and coordination among MDAs and other allied institutions to ensure WASH and Health sector linkages.
Over 110 participants comprising local and international NGOs in the WASH, environment and health sectors attended the five-day conference.
Source: GNA