‘Ghana committed to collaborating with devt partners to improve quality of life’

The Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources, Cecilia Dapaah, has reiterated the government’s commitment to intensify collaboration with the country’s development partners to improve quality of life of the citizenry.

Currently, she said, several projects including the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) sanitation and water, which was being supported by the World Bank, and Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) pipes extension, were ongoing to provide households with sanitary facilities and potable water.

She was speaking on Monday when the United States of America (USA) Ambassador to Ghana, Stephanie Sullivan, paid her a courtesy call at her office in Accra.

The meeting was for the ministry and the USA envoy to deliberate on new ways the two countries could collaborate in the areas of water and sanitation for their mutual benefit.

According to Madam Dapaah, the GAMA sanitation and water project was critical in government’s efforts to clamp down on open defecation, stating that “with this project, we are on course to make open defecation a thing of the past.”

She observed that there was growing disdain for open defecation, following sensitisation and provision of toilet facilities along Ghana’s coastal areas, and called for greater collaboration in ending the menace.

In the provision of water, she stated that, so far, about 300km length of water pipes had been installed by the GWCL, with more yet to be done to provide potable water to peri-urban and rural areas.

She said, following the approval of the €276 million Tamale water project, which would add 30 million gallons of water to the existing system, by Parliament, about 27 communities including Sanerigu, Tolon, Kumbungu, Yapei/Yipala, Savelugu and Dalun were expected to be provided with potable water.

On her part, Mrs Sullivan said, the USA was prepared to work with the ministry in working on priority areas to improve the quality of life in communities across the country.

She said the USA was undertaking a five-year project at a cost of US$90 million to provide water to 300,000 households in identified areas in the country.

BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS