Dr. Hamid inspecting the facility during the tour
Some beneficiaries of an inner
cities sanitation project initiated by the Ministry of Inner Cities and Zongo
Development (MICZD) have commended government for its wisdom in setting up a
ministry that caters for the marginalized section of the Ghanaian society.
The project, which was executed
under the Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Water and Sanitation Project,
targeted 5000 beneficiaries who have been provided with toilet facilities.
The cost was borne by a World
Bank subsided arrangement and the ministry.
Beneficiary communities
included Chorkor, Adabraka, Chemue Naa, Osu Alata, Osu Anorhor, London Market,
Akumadjen, Adedantan and Amamomo.
The sector minister, Dr.
Mustapha Hamid, on Monday embarked on an inspection tour of completed facilities
where scores of beneficiaries expressed gratitude to President Akufo-Addo.
Speaking in an interview, a
beneficiary, Ahmed Bill, who resides at Chorkor, said that some residents had
in the past resorted to open defecation along the coastal beaches in the
absence of a household toilet facility.
He was, however, hopeful that
such condemnable acts would be a thing of the past as beneficiaries would make
optimum use of the facility.
Another beneficiary at Osu
Alata, Sammy Odoi, stressed “we shouldn’t politicise things. Things for
Ghanaians are for Ghanaians. It is not for NPP; it is not for NDC or PPP. So
whatever we are doing, let’s do it from our heart.”
Dr. Hamid, who was accompanied
by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA),
Mohammed Adjei Sowah, encouraged beneficiaries to take proper care of the
facilities as the ministry intends to increase the number of facilities in each
household from one to two or more in subsequent years.
In selecting households for the
project, Mr. Sowah explained that assessing the needs of households was
conducted where households with large numbers who do not have a toilet facility
were prioritized, while households willing to let out space for the project were
also considered.
By Issah Mohammed
