Cleaning Accra to save lives - Partnerships crucial
The rains have once again brought to the fore the insanitary conditions in Accra. It brings back the question of whether Accra will ever overcome its sanitation challenges.
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Many diseases, some of which have led to deaths, are linked to insanitary conditions. Cholera is one of such diseases.
Unfortunately, many people do not appreciate the fact that the quality of the environment they find themselves in has a bearing on their very existence as human beings.
On March 19, 2015, graphiconline reported that over 20,500 cases of cholera were recorded in the Greater Accra Region between June 2014 and February 2015.
Out of the figure, 121 deaths were recorded. According to medical doctors, it was the single largest outbreak of cholera in the history of Ghana.
A resident medical doctor at the Faculty of Public Health at the Ghana College of Physicians and Surgeons, Dr Atsu Seake-Kwawu, was reported by the website as saying that the outbreak was three times bigger than the recorded cases in 2013.
One of the major challenges that continues to bedevil Ghana’s quest to attain its development goals is sanitation. The country has over the past years fought the battle to improve its sanitation, but very little has been achieved.
For years now, efforts have been made by both the government and the private sector, especially Zoomlion Ghana Limited, the largest waste management company in Ghana, to help address the sanitation challenges in the country.
Assurance
The assurance by President Akufo-Addo to ensure that Accra becomes the cleanest city in Africa has been welcomed by many residents, but others have questioned whether it is attainable.
Perhaps, the President’s pledge explained why he created a new ministry in charge of Sanitation and Water Resources.
I believe the President is counting on the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources and the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) to achieve his agenda of making Accra the cleanest city.
While these two government institutions have accepted the President’s pledge as a welcome challenge, the question one would ask is: “Can these two institutions do it alone?”
When the ministry was created, many people and organisations applauded the government, saying the move would go a long way to give meaning to Ghana’s commitment to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6, which seeks to promote the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation.
The AMA, on the other hand, has been fighting the sanitation battle for some years now.
The assembly, after the June 3 disaster that claimed over 150 lives, has come up with a number of interventions to address the sanitation situation. Majority of the interventions targeted demolition of structures on watercourses and the clearing of drains.
Partnerships
One thing that has helped the assembly in its fight to improve sanitation in Accra is the realisation that the assembly cannot do it alone.
The AMA is relying on waste management companies, particularly Zoomlion Ghana Limited, to fight the battle.
Realising that Zoomlion has the facilities and the human resources to address the sanitation problem, the AMA has partnered the company to help achieve its agenda.
Undoubtedly, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has had a positive impact on sanitation in Ghana. The company, which is under the Jospong Group of Companies, has numerous subsidiaries targeting specific waste problems.
The Mudor Waste Treatment Plant was established purposely to process human excreta into biogas for use by the public. Jospong also has a recycling plant and a dredging wing (Dredge Masters).
Last Thursday, Zoomlion inaugurated its Achimota Waste Transfer Station to complement the one it built at Teshie in 2015. It is operated by Zoompak.
The partnership between AMA, the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Zoomlion Ghana Limited and the Environmental Service Providers Association is the surest way of clearing Accra of filth to avoid the outbreak of preventable diseases.