Mr Adams made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency during a two-day city-to-city visit exchange programme in Accra, under Improving Governance and Services for Ghana's Urban Poor with the objective of setting a learning platform to share ideas and knowledge among cities.
He said the programme being implemented by Global Communities and organised by the Institute of Local Government Studies (ILGS) was also expected to create useful learning opportunities for peer cities in a manner that would bring in more efficiency and impact in performing their duties.
"There is no need reinventing the wheel on some of these basic activities that some cities have already succeeded at," he said.
Mr Adams cited the cities Accra and Tamale, where some precautionary measures were taken to save cost and prolong the lifespan of future landfill sites, which was based on the learning of the Tema landfill site.
He advised the assemblies to develop activities on exchange visits so that they could meet to assess their progress while sharing knowledge among themselves.
The Project Director gave the assurance that Global Communities would continue to facilitate the activities of the assemblies until 2015 by which time the districts would have fully taken charge of the process of running their programmes sustainably at their own pace and convenience.
The two-day visit started with the two cities of Accra and Sekondi-Takoradi last year where organised exchanges were held on internal revenue generation, outdoor advertising, property tax reforms and waste management.
In all, a total of 50 key management staff comprising, coordinating directors, presiding and sub-committee members, district planning and budget officers, district engineers and town and country planning officers of the various MMDAs participated.
The group used the first day to tour the newly commissioned Tema landfill site to learn about activities taking place there. The delegation was received by the Municipal Chief Executive, Mr Kempes Papa Nii Ofosuware.
The group followed with other events in Accra where discussions were held on low income housing, city development permitting and management practices and involvement of low income communities.
New Takoradi Water & Sanitation Committee makes giant strides
The New Takoradi Water & Sanitation Committee (WSC) has taken a step towards increasing the capacity of the Public Latrine they operate and manage courtesy of an approved loan facility under the Sekondi-Takoradi City-wide Development Fund, repayable in one year.
The Committee, after operating the latrine facility provided by the Water Access, Sanitation and Hygiene for Urban Poor for over two years, recommended the expansion of the facility by constructing additional cubicles and an expanded septic tank. The recommendation was in response to high patronage of the facility after extensive hygiene behaviour change messaging yielded results through drastic reduction in open defecation along the beaches and in the community.
With the loan facility, the New Takoradi WSC is set to enhance the sustainability of the latrine and the ability of the WSC to lead the community in overcoming water and sanitation related challenges. The action of the New Takoradi WSC can also be attributed to effective capacity building efforts by the WASH-UP Project under Component Four, which seeks to strengthen local governance for water supply, sanitation service, and hygiene promotion. A major achievement under the component was the formation of the WSCs in all project communities to spearhead community efforts.
COMPOSTING PLANT AND LABORATORY COMPLEX OPENS AT BIOTECHNOLOGY AND NUCLEAR AGRICULTURE RESEARCH INSTITUTE
At a well-attended ceremony to mark the official opening of a Composting Plant and Laboratory Complex on the premises of the Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute, Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, a clarion call was made for Ghanaian to take waste management seriously and consider it as a goldmine waiting to be explored.
The ceremony was patronized by all staff of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission (GAEC), selected pupils from the GAEC Basic School, GAEC Farmers’ Association, representatives from the Food Research Institute, waste management companies and the media. Prof J. H. Amoasi, currently the Rector of the School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences chaired the program which was graced by many dignitaries including the Director General of the Ghana Atomic Energy Commission, Acting Chief Director of the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, Ga East Municipal Director of Food and Agriculture, Country Directors of Safi Sana and CHF International Ghana.
CHF inaugurates three projects to improve sanitation in Avenor
Accra, Sept. 07, GNA – The CHF International, a non-governmental organisation, has inaugurated three projects to help ensure good environmental sanitation in the community of Avenor in Accra. The 31,000 dollar facilities include a compost technology centre, Trashy (plastic fashion accessory centre) and buyback centre.
The intention of the project is to ensure that food waste from households and restaurants would be received by the compost technology centre which would process them into organic fertilizers to be used for plant production.
The buyback centre would also purchase the plastic sachet waste from the public and in turn sell it to the recycling factories while the plastic fashion accessory centre would use the recycled products of sachet plastic waste to produce plastic materials such as bags, wallets, pen and pencil holders, sandals, hats, rain jackets and dustbins.
Mr Alberto Wilde, CHF Country Director in Ghana, inaugurating the projects, said it was possible for community members to be active change-agents under the right engagement strategy to promote their mutual benefits. He said compost materials which are fully decayed plant residues could be used to replenish marginal and infertile lands and they are known to have superior health benefits over those from chemical based ones.
Mr Wilde expressed gratitude to the Okaikoi South Sub-Metro Assembly for recruiting dedicated youth who underwent a period of training and have graduated to become entrepreneurs to assist in the running of the facilities. He said about 3,000 youth have so far benefitted directly from the Youth Engagements in Service (YES) Delivery package that addresses all the key constraints of the unemployed youth seeking employment.
“It is our hope,” he said, “that our committed youth will take up the challenge of owning and running these facilities as life improving businesses”. The CHF Director urged the youth to build on the foundation laid by the YES project, work hard and expand the coverage of their market adding that “this is important because, growth in their businesses would translate into increasing the recovery of waste from the stream within Avenor community.”
Mr Mahmoud Haruna, Assemblyman for Avenor Electoral Area, appealed to the residents to lend their support to the youth by properly disposing off their domestic waste and ensuring that plastic materials are separated from the solid waste. He said it was important they also patronised the door-to-door waste collection services instituted by the organisation.
GNA.....available here
HANDING OVER OF YES FACILITIES IN JAMESTOWN-GA MASHIE
The Bill & Melinda Gates funded Youth Engagement in Service Delivery (YES) Project, which aimed to build the capacity of local youth development organization and creating employment opportunities for youth in poor urban communities in Accra has over the past three years chalked remarkable achievement in implementation.
To hand over facilities comprising of a Compost Plant, Buy bag and Trash Center constructed under the YES Project, a ceremony was held at the forecourt of the Sempe Mantse Palace, in Jamestown, Accra. The event was graced by the Director of Ashiedu Ketekeh Sub-Metropolitan District Council, the Country Director and staff of CHF International Ghana, Korle and Sempe Wulomei, Nii Ayikai III, Chief of Akumajen and Nii Amon Kotey VI, a sub-chief. Also present were pupils and staff of Sempe Basic School.
Poor People pay more for Water
Poor people in urban centres pay more for water compared to the affluent in society, according to a consultant helping the Ministries of Water Resources, Works and Housing and Local Government and Rural Development to develop a national strategy for the water sector.
Patrick Apoya said the problem had persisted because poor people depend on secondary providers rather than the Ghana Water Company for water.
At the launch of the strategy co-sponsored by the USAID and CHF International, which was aimed at getting underprivileged communities involved in urban services, Mr. Apoya said third party suppliers and vendors, who are the main source of water for poor households, charge as high as 10 to 20 times than the approved tariffs.
He said services rendered to households are poor and unreliable.
He attribut
ed the situation to weaknesses in governance structure and said urban water and sanitation hygiene services needs to be strengthened without delay.
Senyo Amengor, Acting Managing Director of Ghana Urban Water Limited, told CITY & BUSINESS after the launch of the project that the households pay 83 pesewas per one meter cubic, representing 1000 litres of water.
“When you are connected for domestic use we charge 83 pessewas per 1 meter cube those who are poor in terms of access to water have to pay more because they do not have direct access to our pipelines.”
He said the growing urban population was making water supply services cumbersome, explaining that “the planning of the water supply system was done when the demand was not much higher and we doing our best to match our systems with the growth of the population.”
Dr. Sumani Alhassan, Director of Water Directorate of the Minister of Water Resources, Works and Housing, in a speech read on his behalf, noted that Ghana was experiencing rapid urbanization, adding that government was struggling to cope with the increasing demand for water and sanitation and hygiene services.
He explained that though 51 per cent of the population live in urban areas only 64 percent of them have access to improved water supply.
Before launching the strategy, Deputy Minister for the Ministry of Water Resources, Works and Housing, Nii Nortey Dua stated that the current Ghana Water Company Limited delivery approach does not clearly define the role of communities and non-state actors in water provision.
“There is the need to create the environment for innovative community management that will synergize with operations of Ghana Water Company Limited,” he said.
He expressed the hope that the national strategy would address the problem.
The Country Director of CHF said the objective of his organization which has been in Ghana for the past three years is to increase access of households to affordable, improved and sustainable drinking water and strengthen local governance for water supply and sanitation services delivery
Source: Daily Guide
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CHF International intensifies campaign against plastic waste littering
The CHF International, a non-governmental organisation (NGO) affiliated with Accra Plastic Waste Management Project, have intensified its campaign to sensitise the public on the need to separate sachet waste from other waste products.
Mr George Amoasah, Senior Project Officer of CHF made this known at the weekend when he sensitised New Mamprobi Pentecost Church on the benefits of separating plastic waste. He said CHF with support from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is implementing a three-year project called Youth Engagement in Service Delivery (YES) that seeks to create sustainable employment for the youth within the solid waste value addition chain.
Participants at an Organic Value Chain workshop have called on the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MOFA) to expedite work on the development regulations and standards for organic farming.
They said recognising the importance of promoting organic business and sustainable agricultural practices including setting appropriate standards for compost fertilizers would increase food safety and security.
The workshop organised by the CHF International, Bio Ghana Network, Ministry of Trade and Industry and German Agency for International Development (GIZ) brought together stakeholders from research institutes, transporters, Non-Governmental Organisations, organic farmers, compost producers, agriculture extension agents and other certification bodies.
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Memuna's time with CHF
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USAID, CHF, Relief International donate hand washing facilities to Accra New Town
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Modern Toilets and Rain Water Harvesting Facilities for ANT Cluster of Schools
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NGO organizes discussions on WASH-UP programme
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Ghana Urban Platform IV
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Dzifa Akaba's time with CHF in Ghana
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CHF at the 23rd UN-HABITAT GC
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SCALE-UP End of Project Exhibitions
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WASH BCC Strategy for the Urban Sub-sector Launch
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Akua's time with CHF
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