According to the Sanitation Minister, government has contributed around $1 billion to make it easier to meet the country’s long-term water and sanitation needs.
Cecilia Abena Dapaah stated that the government used a Public Private Partnership (PPP) strategy to address the escalating demand for water and sanitation demands throughout time.
When Dr. Rashid Mbaziira, the Executive Secretary of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW), paid her a courtesy visit in Accra, Mrs. Dapaah revealed this.
She pointed out that the implementation of the PPP strategy resulted in the construction of integrated compost and recycling plants, wastewater treatment facilities, condominium sewers, and water intake and treatment facilities.
“The country is open to new proposals and inputs in tapping into Ghana’s 53.2 billion m3 Renewable Water Resources,” she added.
Following the reviewing of the National Sanitation Policy, with focus on open defecation, the Minister of Sanitation and Water Resources indicated that the ministry was fully committed to supporting the activities of AMCOW through data sharing with sister countries for the collective good of Africa.
Mrs Dapaah said it was important to mobilise high-level political buy-in and commitment for the roadmap to formulate the post-2025 Africa Water Vision in implementing continental and global commitments on water and sanitation.
She reiterated Ghana’s full support for the proposal to appoint a United Nations Secretary General’s Special Envoy on Water to strengthen Africa’s voice at the global level in order to accelerate progress towards achieving water and sanitation goals in Africa.
Dr Mbaziira for his part stressed the need for African countries to focus on using the digital elements available to them for data collection in the water sector.
He used the opportunity to commend Ghana for the successful implementation of the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Water and Sanitation Projects, and the World Bank is considering replicating the project in other African countries.