Govt to launch massive sanitation programme
The government is to launch a massive sanitation programme to improve the sanitation situation in the country. President John Dramani Mahama, who announced this, said Ghana lagged far behind in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on sanitation, hence the determination of the government to improve the situation.
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He made the pledge last Saturday when he inspected a biofil toilet system at the Christ the King Catholic Church in Accra.
Biofil toilet facility
With biofil toilet facility, earth worms are injected into a faeces receptive system of about two feet. The earth worms feed on the faeces.
Water from the receptive system goes through a series of filtration. Thereafter, the water is allowed to go into the ground. The water can also be used in watering gardens.
The biofil toilet system was invented by Biological Filters and Composers Limited.
Sanitation situation
The President said the MDG on sanitation required a country to have up to 67 per cent of the population having access to toilet facilities by 2015.
However, he said, in Ghana, only 18 per cent of the population had access to toilet facilities.
President Mahama said the government's decision was to support the construction of toilet facilities to get at least closer to the 67 per cent mark by 2015.
He said the biofil toilet facility had some advantages because it did not require much water for flushing.
He tasked the Ministers of Health and Local Government to further study the biofil toilet facility and see how it could be incorporated to scale up the national programme.
The inventor of the biofil toilet system, Mr Kweku Anno, said the facility did not pollute the environment or give bad stench.
He said the company already had more than 3,500 of the toilet facilities across the country.