The Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources has held an orientation session for journalists in Kumasi to formally introduce the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project.
The Ministry used the opportunity to explain the various components of the project, including Household and Institutional Toilet delivery, Water Supply and Capacity Building.
The Project is also expected to expand the Asafo Sewerage Treatment Plant.
The Project team led by its Coordinator, Ing. George Asiedu informed the journalists that household toilet construction in low-income communities in the eight metropolitan and municipal assemblies under the Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area is expected to commence in October 2021.
The event was attended by reporters, editors, and producers from over thirty media houses in Greater Kumasi.
Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, who chaired the event, entreated the Journalists to support the Ministry to sensitize citizens within Greater Kumasi about the project to enable them to take advantage of its many benefits to increase access to sanitation and water services.
Hon. Dapaah thanked the President, H.E Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for supporting the Ministry to secure the funding and His Royal Highness Otumfour Osei Tutu for the support he has given the project so far.
The Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area Sanitation and Water Project is a sequel to the very successful Greater Accra Metropolitan Area (GAMA) Sanitation and Water Project and expected to provide at least 30, 000 household toilets and 120 school and health care sanitation facilities.
In the case of water supply, the Project will support improvements and extension of the water distribution network in GKMA by laying 120 km of pipeline with 10,000 new household connections to Ghana Water Company Limited (GWCL) water system.
The beneficiary Assemblies of the Project include Kumasi Metropolitan, Asokwa, Kwadaso, Old Tafo, Oforikrom, Ejisu, Suame and Asokore Mampong Municipal Areas.
The Project is expected to run for four years from 2020 to 2024.
Greater Kumasi Metropolitan Area (GKMA) Sanitation and Water Project
The main objective of the GKMA SWP is to increase access to improved sanitation and improved water supply in the GKMA, with emphasis on low-income urban communities (LIUCs). To achieve the objective of increasing access to improved sanitation for close to 120,000 persons, at least 19,000 household Toilets are to be constructed to serve poor households in these LIUCs.
Output-based subsidies are provided to beneficiaries in targeted low- income urban communities to enable them to obtain toilets at reduced prices.
Nevertheless, even the subsidized cost of toilets is expensive relative to the amount of funds that targeted households can readily mobilize.
