Improve sanitation and access to good drinking water (GHWAE0003)

Commitment ID

GHWAE0003

Commitment Title

Improve sanitation and access to good drinking water

Problem

The population with access to safe drinking water in the Municipality is 58.8 percent. More communities do not have access to any safe water services and depend on rivers, streams, dug out or rain water, which may either be polluted with contaminants from illegal mining (Galamsey) activities or other forms of human activities. The safe water facilities in the Municipality comprise boreholes (199), limited mechanized boreholes (14), and small-town piped schemes (4). Major challenges with improving access to potable water include the increasing water demand; heavy iron pollution in some communities as a result of the increasing illegal mining in the municipality; inadequate maintenance of facilities; weak institutional coordination in water service delivery, and the absence of WATSAN committees in some communities with safe water facilities to ensure the sustainability of water services to the people.

Management of solid waste remains a major challenge in the municipality as most communities do not have access to improved environmental sanitation facilities. There are 8 refuse bays and 16 communal containers in the entire Municipality which is inadequate. There is also a landfill site that is not engineered, thus waste dumped there is spread, ramped, and covered with soil to allow for more dumping. Poor enforcement of sanitation by-laws by the Assembly authorities further compounds the situation.

Status quo

The National Environmental Sanitation Policy and the Local Governance Act, 2016 (Act 936) require all local governments, including the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal, to create and enforce bylaws that require residents, landlords, and property owners, among others, to abide by the various environmental rules of providing household toilets, enhancing sanitation, ensuring food security, and further imposing penalties for non-compliance. Due to the authorities' limited competence and resources, it has been extremely difficult to implement these by-laws.

The provision and upkeep of water facilities within the municipality are likewise overseen by a community water and sanitation board. However, the increased illegal mining activities in the municipality have polluted water bodies, leaving a void of citizens.

Action

The joint efforts in water and sanitation would be evaluated through consultative meetings with stakeholders, including local authorities, property owners/residents associations, CSOs, and the private sector, to solicit ideas to inform the execution of the plan. This positive interaction would also look at agreements between parties regarding by-law enforcement and compliance, overcoming financial barriers to installing toilets in homes, providing potable water to communities that are most in need, raising public awareness of sanitation by-laws, and creating innovative municipal waste management methods.

Expected Results:
1. Enhance private sector participation in waste management.
2. Collaborate with development partners to provide portable drinking water to vulnerable communities.
3. Enforcement of sanitation bye-laws to ensure a healthy environment.

Overall Objective:
To enhance consensus building in sanitation by-law enforcement and ensure access to portable drinking water for all by 2024

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem described above?

Expected Outputs:
1. Stakeholders' consultative meetings to review the sanitation by-laws and their enforcement.
2. Construct 20 new mechanized boreholes and rehabilitate existing ones across the municipality.
3. Intensified WASH and Sanitation By-Law awareness campaigns in collaboration with landlords and other identified stakeholders organized.

Expected Outcomes:
1. Increased stakeholder consensus building in sanitation by-law compliance.
2. Expanded access to potable drinking water.
3. Percentage change in reported cases of open defecation and sanitation-related illnesses.
4 Adopted technology in managing waste.

What long-term goal as identified in your Open Government Strategy does this commitment relate to?

The commitment aligns with the Wassa Amenfi East Municipal Assembly’s OGP vision of co-creating and implementing achievable commitments that will create a safe and healthy environment for all and ensure that citizens have access to good drinking water through a collaborative effort of all stakeholders.

The Commitment is also aimed at adopting innovative ways of managing waste in the municipality. This includes turning our solid waste into other productive materials.

Primary Policy Area

Beneficial Ownership, Civic Space

Primary Sector

Public Services (general), Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene

What OGP value is this commitment relevant to?