The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources (MSWR) has directed the various Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) to sanctions recalcitrant waste collection firms who fail to collect and dispose them on stipulated time. This is an unacceptable and bad practice that causes public nuisance in the environment, thereby exposing neighbourhoods and the local communities to health hazards. Dr Freda Prempeh, the Sector Minister, said it was the responsibility of the MMDAs to promote environmental cleanliness to avert outbreak of communicable diseases, saying 'you have signed contracts with the waste collection firms and have the right to impose sanctions on them.' She gave the directive, in an interview with the media on the sidelines of the opening session of a training workshop on Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Sector Information Systems (SIS), held at Goaso in the Ahafo region. With support from its partners, the three-day training brought together sector systems, including the Dist rict Monitoring and Evaluation System (DiMES) and Basic Sanitation Information System (SIS). Other stakeholder systems, including Education Management Information System (EMIS) and District Health Information System (DHIMS) also attended for harmonised reporting and decision-making. Dr Prempeh, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Tano North in the region, noted that though the MMDAs had entered into agreements with the refuse collection firms for collection and disposal of waste, there were widespread heaps of refuse left unattended to in many of the local communities. These unhygienic environments not only lead to communicable disease outbreaks, but also expose communities to serious health hazards, including breeding grounds for mosquitoes, rodents and reptiles. Dr Prempeh said the nation had achieved some successes in the WASH sector with access to basic sanitation facilities increasing from 66 per cent in 2017 to 80.8 per cent in 2021, while access to basic drinking water services increased from 78.0 per cent in 2017 to 87.7 per cent in the same period. Nonetheless, the sector lacked a single-shot information system that brings together all efforts being made by various WASH actors, for evidence-based decision-making. Thus, efforts being made in the sector had been tracked and reported in a fragmented manner, thereby making harmonisation a serious challenge, she said. In a speech read on his behalf, Mr George Yaw Boakye, the Ahafo Regional Minister, commended MSWR and its partners for improving WASH systems in the region. Through the Ministry, the region with support from IRC, an international organisation operating in the WASH sector and its partners commenced their partnership with the Asutifi North District to prepare and implement a 13-year WASH Master Plan (2017-2030). The initiative, Mr Boakye explained, sought to promote universal access to safe water, basic sanitation, and hygiene services to about 84,420 people by 2030. Source: Ghana News Agency
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